The Brotherhood
by HardBoiled
Summary: This is what I thought X-Men Evolution season two and beyond should have been like. Will include a lot of other mutants and no OCs. CURRENTLY BEING RE-EDITED
1. Chapter 1

(I was reading some old chapters and kicked myself at some of the mistakes I made. So I decided to go back and reedit every single chapter for grammer, spelling, and even adding scenes and dialogued that I didn't get around to adding.)

St. John Allerdyce lay back in his seat, trying to catch a little shuteye before they arrived. It's funny how things worked out. After he learned how to use his powers, he was met by a woman named Mystique. She offered him a place in something called the Brotherhood. John turned her down flat, he didn't need anybody. Though angry, Mystique said that the offer stood and gave him an address to go to when he was ready. The address was somewhere in America and John felt quite fine in Australia. But after 27 warrants out on him for arson and parking tickets, the sixteen year old John felt new scenery would be beneficial.

When he got to America, he took another plane to JFK airport and actually met up with a few others who were mutants as well. Benedict Kine (16) and Christopher Terrance (17) were their names. John watched the two of them use their powers to steal various items in the airport and approached them. After showing what he could do, the two decided to tag along with him. Terrance had stolen a convertible and changed the license plate and VIN number. He did it so well he could drive it to a police station and not worry about it. They arrived to the address a little in the afternoon. To their surprise, the place was a dump.

"This is it? Are you sure this is the right address?" Kine asked.

"Positive, this is it. Blimy, I've seen coyotes with burrows better then this." answered John.

Terrance shrugged, "Well, let's get this over with." The three of them got out and walked to the front door.

John banged on the door. "Yo Mystique its John Allerdyce. I've had a change of heart and I've brought some friends with me. They've got powers too." he yelled out, making sure anyone inside could hear him. To his disappointment, he didn't hear anyone inside and nobody came to the door.

"Maybe they're not home." shrugged Terrance.

"Then they won't mind us making ourselves comfortable." said Kine who kicked the door open. The door swung open and the three walked inside. As they expected, no one was home. Deciding to get comfortable, the three started moving around the house.

Terrance started watching television, Kine made a snack out of what little food was in the refrigerator and Pyro was taking a shower. After an hour, all of them were sitting in front of the television watching old Seinfeld re-runs. The three of them were laughing at George's answering machine song when they heard the front door opening.

"Will you let it go already Toad? We're sorry, okay?" said an annoyed Lance.

"You guys left me out in the cold man. How am I supposed to forget that." replied Toad, who was still angry about the whole Asteroid M incident.

"Will you drop it alre…" Pietro started to say before the four Brotherhood members walked into the living room and say the three guests sitting on the couch.

"What the…Who are you?" demanded Lance.

"St. John Allerdyce at your service mates." Pyro said, introducing himself. "I'm here to take up Mystique on her offer." he continued. That's when he noticed the confused faces. "Uhh, is this a bad time?"

"What exactly did Mystique offer you?" asked Toad.

"You know, membership into the Brotherhood. We mutants have to stick together." John said.

Pietro was the first to speak up, recognizing the opportunity. "What exactly is your power?" he asked.

Smiling, John pulled out his lighter and snapped a flame out of it. The small spark grew into a fireball that twirled around the room then coming to rest hovering above John's hand. He closed his hand then re-opened it, revealing the flame was gone. "Cool." said Fred.

"Pyro's the name and fire is my game. As you can see, I control fire and I can't be burned or hurt by it. The downside is that I can't create it." John said.

"What about them?" asked Lance, pointing to Kine and Terrance.

Kine smiled and glanced over at Freddy. Suddenly, Fred's hands shot up into the air. "Hey, what's happening?" said Fred as he started to spin himself around like a ballerina.

"I control people's bodies but I can't control what they say. The name's Benedict Kine or I prefer Pusher." said Kine.

"I'm Christopher Terrance and I create psychic static, which gives everyone around bad headaches plus the inability to speak coherently. Also, it completely disables anyone from using telepathy. I can also sense if someone's using telepathy near me. If you want something else to call me, just use Static." said Terrance.

The Brotherhood was already excited about their newest prospects. They already imagined ideas of how they could use them when there was another knock on the door. "Wow this place is getting more traffic in five minutes then in the last year." said Toad who hopped to the door. He opened it to a young blond girl about sixteen years old.

"Is Mystique here?" she asked, nervous. Toad had to shake his head to stop looking at her.

"Well, this is her residence so you've come to the right place. Can I help you?" asked Toad.

"Yeah, I need a place to stay and Mystique said I could come here if I ever needed to." the girl replied. Toad opened the door all the way to let her in.

"Please come in. All mutants are accepted, except for X-Geeks." said Toad.

"Huh?" she asked confused.

"Uhh, nothing. My name is Todd Tolensky but everyone calls me Toad. What's your name?" asked Toad.

"Lorna Dale." the girl answered.

"Guys, we've got another mutant." Toad as he escorted Dale into the living room.

"Wow four new people in under ten minutes. I doubt the X-Geeks could recruit that fast." Pietro said to himself.

"Well if you're going to stay with us, we'll need to see your powers." Lance said to Dale. She lifted up hands and then the television was lifted into the air, the light bulbs started to flicker, in fact everything metallic flew into the air including Pietro for wearing a metal watch.

"Hey put me down!" Maximoff yelled out.

The four original members were in complete shock. Dale lowered everything back to their original place. "Can I stay?" she asked. They all just nodded, still stunned. "Thanks. I'm starving." Lorna said before heading towards the kitchen.

"Yo she's got Magneto's power." said Toad.

"That's impossible. What are the odds someone is born with the exact same powers?" asked Lance.

"Maybe she and magnet butt are related?" wondered Toad.

"That's impossible. He only had one daughter and…" Pietro said before quickly biting his tongue.

"What was that?" said Lance.

"Uhh…nothing." Pietro too quickly.

"Whatever. All I know is that we're gonna rock the X-Men the next time we see them." said Lance.

Fred, Pietro, and Toad all moaned. "Enough with the rock puns already." said Fred.


	2. Back to School

(Hello folks, time for the Brotherhood and the X-Men to go back to school. For those of you wondering, Kine and Terrance are not OCs. They are from the Marvel comic books. Kine is a member of the Hellfire Club and first appeared in X-Men II Annual #3. Terrance is King Bedlam from X-Force #87. I did change them around by giving them new nicknames and changing their powers a little bit. Anyways, on with the next chapter.)

First day of school and nobody wanted to go. Nobody except Lance for some unknown reason. In the two months that Pyro and the others first arrived, things were pretty smooth sailing. They stole whatever they wanted and kept a low profile. Pyro and the others enrolled themselves into Bayville to avoid any problems should the police come around. The fact that they didn't have a legal guardian didn't really bother them so they just forged some fake guardian names.

And grudgingly, everyone was out the door. Lance, Fred, Todd, and Pietro rode in the jeep while John, Chris, Lorna, and Kine all rode in the convertible. Once they arrived Pyro was the first out of the car. "Alright time to be taught more useless information that will in no way benefit us down the road." he chuckled.

Kine watched several girls walked by and smiled, "Of course not every subject in school is boring."

Summers and the X-Men all parked next to them, both sides oblivious to the other. "Man I hate school." moaned Daniels.

"We know Evan. You've been saying that all morning." said Kurt.

"Whatever later." Evan said before hopping on his skateboard and riding down the sidewalk. He nearly runs into Terrance who was walking by. Angry, Chris sends a burst of psy static at Evan. A massive headache hit Evan, causing him to lose his balance and fall flat on his face. Chris chuckled as he headed towards the entrance.

Meanwhile, John was walking down the hallways lost. "Oh crud, figures I get lost the first day." he moaned. He walked around a corner and BUMMPP! He crashed into Amara Aquilla as he came around. Both of them dropped their books and binders.

Amara was quick to apologize. "I'm so sorry. I didn't look where I was going," she said quickly trying to avoid eye contact as she leaned down and picked up her things.

But John was quick too as he helped pick up her things. "No it was my fault. Honest, I was looking at my schedule and…I seem to be a little lost." he said.

Amara looked at it and then pointed to a room across the hallway. "It's over there." she said.

"Thank you so much. You're a life saver." said John.

"Uhh no problem." she said, still nervous.

"St. John Allerdyce at your service but please call me John." he said, introducing himself.

"Uhhh…Amara Aquilla." she replied, starting to get a little more comfortable talking with him. The warning bell interrupted whatever they were about to say next.

"Uh oh I guess that's our que. It was nice meeting you." said John.

"Yeah you too." Amara said as she started towards her own class. That's when John knew that school was going to be better then he originally thought.

Everyone entered the gymnasium for a student assembly. All of the Brotherhood (except Pyro and Lorna) stood in the corner, bored out of their minds. Toad tried to catch a fly with his tongue but he wasn't having much luck. "Mans this sucks yo. Even the flies here think they're better than us." he moaned.

"Yeah I don't even know what we're doing in school anyway." said Fred.

Kine glanced over at Duncan Matthews and smiled. "Hey Freddy check out Matthews." he said before sending out a neural command that caused Matthews to slap himself hard in the face. The boy continued to slap himself silly as Kine and Dukes busted up laughing.

Pietro was noticing Alvers was starring at Kitty. "Oh, now I know why Lance wanted to come here. He'd like to get a certain Kitty stuck in a tree." chuckled Pietro. Toad and Fred were both busting up laughing while Chris and Benedict were both a little confused. (They've never seen the X-Men before.)

"Who?" asked Chris. Toad pointed to Kitty.

"Ohhh nice choice shaky." said Kine. Alvers threw an angry look at him.

"K-I-S-S-I…" Pietro started singing before Lance tried to smack him. Pietro simply zoomed behind Freddy and Lance hit Toad instead.

While the others were laughing, Pyro passed by and spotted Amara. "Hey Amara." he said, trying to keep his excitement hidden.

Amara looked up from her seat. "Oh John hi." she said, still nervous.

John was getting the impression that she was a very shy person. "Is this seat taken?" he asked as he sat next to her.

"Uhh no. I don't know much people around here." she said.

"What do you mean?" asked John.

"This is actually my first day." Amara admitted.

"Really? Well then join the club." John said.

"This is your first day too?" Amara blinked.

"Yeah the last one I went to was in good ole Sydney. Lovely city but too much traffic." said John.

"Let me guess Sydney, Australia." said Amara.

"What gave it away? My accent or charm?" asked John, smiling.

While those two continued flirting with one another, Lorna was taking a seat by herself. She was glancing around to the various students and noticed Kurt and Evan throwing paper balls at the Brotherhood. Pietro retaliated by zooming off to an ice machine and grabbing as many ice cubes as he could. He zoomed back right behind Evan and Daniels and dropped the ice cubes down their shirts. Both of them screamed as Pietro zipped back to the Brotherhood. "Revenge is best served cold Daniels." Pietro chuckled.

While the other Brotherhood members cracked up laughing, Lance headed towards Kitty. "Ohh he's making his move." said Kine. Now the others all talk like they're sports commentators.

"And he's off, coming around from behind." said Toad.

"Nice shove to dispose of the geek behind her." said Kine.

"The two are now conversing." said Pietro.

They all hear Kitty tell Lance to get lost. "Oh, REJECTED!" they all said at once then laughed. Alvers glared at them as Kelly started his speech.

Before he could even begin, the whole room started to shake. It subsided after Kelly dropped onto his butt. Lorna glanced down at Lance. _The moron, he could at least be a little more discreet_ she thought. Apparently, he didn't learn his lesson as he started another one that caused the scoreboard to drop down towards Kelly. For some odd reason, the board flew away harmlessly to the side. Lorna moaned. _That idiot. Was he trying to get someone killed? _she thought.

"Get a clue Lance." Kitty said angrily.

The Brotherhood meanwhile laughed again. "Strike two and three at the same time. He is outta here." chuckled Chris.

"Well he does get bonus points for the scoreboard." said Kine. The boys also got a chuckle at Kelly's speech about unique talents.

John frowned when Kelly started talking about the soccer team. "It's not soccer, its football. What is it with Americans and using the wrong name for the sport?" moaned John.

"Who knows?" said Amara. (She's from Brazil so she gets what he's saying.)

"So see you at the game?" asked John.

"Sure, see you there." smiled Amara before she ran to catch a ride with Bezerker and Cannonball. John felt like he just hit the lottery. Back in his old school, he was quite the troublemaker and that made him quite unwanted there. But new country breeds new opportunity.

Meanwhile Chris and Benedict were heading towards Lance's jeep. "Unbelievable. When I ran away from home, I thought I'd never had to see another essay paper again. But the nightmare has started all over." complained Kine.

"At least you didn't have Mr. Thompson's English class. Why do we have to learn about a language when we can already speak it?" said Chris.

The two of them stopped right in front of Summers and Lance who were both about to get into a fight. "Go ahead Summers, take your best shot. Let's see those eyes blast me though the fence. Right here, right now." Lance taunted as Summers was ready to pull down his glasses.

Kitty was quick to get in Summer's way and stop him. "Scott, don't let him bait you. He knows we can't do that stuff out in the open." she said. They turned and walked away while Lance and the others were laughing at them.

Lance was thinking about his altercation with Summers. "You know what guys, Summers may like keeping things under wraps but I've had it with hiding our powers." he said.

"But Mystique said…" Freddy started to say when Lance interrupted him.

"Forget Mystique, she ain't around no more. So I say let's take Principal Kelly's advice and go public with our unique talents." said Lance.

Both Kine and Terrance threw him a look. "You're kidding right? C'mon Lance. I like being able to control someone and they don't know what's going on." said Kine.

"Besides, how are you gonna get Kitty to like you if you go making trouble?" said Terrance.

John soon showed up along with Lorna. "What's up mates?" he asked.

"Einstein here wants us to show the world what we can do." said Chris.

"What? Are you crazy?! You almost killed somebody back in the gym!" yelled Lorna with a look that would scare away anybody.

Lance quickly backed away a few feet. "Look, we shouldn't be hiding in shame. Fate dealt us winning hands so what's wrong with using them." he protested.

"Because humans and mutants don't mix. I believe that as much as you guys. Do this and we're all gonna be hunted down like animals." Lorna said before getting into the jeep along with John.


	3. The Soccer Game

(Now for a very different version of the soccer game. For the majority of the season, it will be about the Brotherhood since they barely got any time on X-Men Evolution. But don't worry, the X-Men will be making a lot of appearances.)

At the soccer game, Amara was walking with Kurt and Daniels towards the stands. "Why did you even want to come Amara? I thought you don't even like soccer." said Kurt.

Before he could get an answer, Amara saw John waving at her. "Hey Amara!" he yelled out. She smiled and walked towards him. Kurt and Evan instantly knew why she was here.

"So enters the love interest." chuckled Daniels.

"C'mon, let's take our seats. The game is about to start soon." said Kurt. The two of them took their seats next to Rogue, Scott, and Kitty. Professor Xavier was also there as well.

"Where is Amara?" he asked Kurt as he took his seat. He pointed over to where she was sitting with John. Xavier instantly recognized him from Cerebro. Over the past two months, he detected four new mutants in the Brotherhood home and that boy was one of them. John Allerdyce. Charles began to do a brain sweep to make sure he wasn't intending Amara any harm.

Meanwhile, Chris and Kine were both sitting in the front row. "You know, I never did much like regular soccer. But I think I just might get into girls' soccer." said Kine, glancing at the players. Chris suddenly shot his head at Xavier, sensing his use of telepathy. He could tell the man was reading Pyro's mind and sent a burst of psy static at him. Xavier gasped from the sudden broken psychic link with John. He glanced over at Static who started waving his finger at Xavier. Charles tried to search his mind but found he couldn't. Somehow, the boy was blocking his telepathy.

"What's wrong professor?" asked Summers, noticing Xavier's holding his head.

"That boy. Somehow he's blocking my telepathy." said Xavier, indicating Chris.

Summers and the others glanced over at Static. "Hey, those are the new guys who were hanging out with the Brotherhood at the meeting." said Kurt.

"He's powerful enough to block ya'll and he's with the Brotherhood? And Ah thought this day couldn't get any worse." said Rogue.

Of course, it was about to get worse as Toad stole the soccer announcer's microphone. "Attention folks, may I have your attention up here?" Lance's voice came over the speakers. Everyone glanced up at the announcing booth to see Lance, Pietro, Fred, and Todd all standing up there in their battle suits.

Chris and Benedict both growled. "What are they doing? I thought we agreed not to do anything just yet?" said Chris.

John was angry as well. "Those idiots." he growled beside Amara.

"My name is Lance, I also call myself Avalanche because I'm a mutant." Lance said into the microphone much to the horror of the X-Men. "That's right. Me and Toad and Blob and Quicksilver here, we're all mutants. Born different, what you call freaks." Lance explained to the audience.

"What are they doing?" said a horrified Amara.

"Being morons." said John. Amara just thought that Pyro believed that the Brotherhood guys were just joking around when in fact he was one of them.

The other Brotherhood members there were equally angry. "Should we do something about this?" asked Pusher.

Static shook his head. "Let 'em dig their own graves." he replied.

Then Lance started naming off all the X-Men as freaks as well. "Does this moron actually think this is going to get him on Kitty's good side?" said Chris.

"Naa that would require using his brain." said Kine.

"Oh, right." chuckled Chris.

"At least he isn't saying our names." said Kine.

"Being mutants means we've got these special powers to make little improvements. For instance, we thought this game would be more fun if the goals were further apart." Avalanche said before sending a tremor in the ground that created a crevice in the middle of the field.

"Well you have to admit, this is way more exiting then watching soccer." said Kine. Chris nodded in agreement.

Pyro got up from his seat. "Sorry about this but I've gotta go." he said, wanting to talk some sense into the others.

"Wait a minute, this isn't about me being at the Xavier Institute is it?" said Amara. That was a bombshell to say the least.

"Wait a minute, you're at the Insti…that means you're a mutant?" asked John. Everyone started glancing at them. But to Amara's surprise, he was smiling. "I don't believe it. So am I!" he yelled out happily.

"You are?" said a stunned Amara.

John noticed the terrified glances everyone was giving them. "Get lost blokes." he said to them as they started to back away. He turned back to her. "I'm a mutant too." he said happily.

"And we figured the principal aught to have a better perspective on his student body." announced Lance as Quicksilver zoomed around Kelly that caused a tornado, sending the principal flying into the air.

"Okay, that deserves a ten." said Kine.

"And I thought this was going to be bad but this is a lot more entertaining than I ever imagined." said Chris.

"Another thing, we think that mascot totally reeks." said Lance as Blob charged at it, crushing every bench he stepped on. By now, the X-Men were in combat gear and Summers blasted the mascot right out of Blob's hands. Kine and Chris watched Summers and Lance duke it out with just their fists. Kurt and Toad were fighting hand to hand and Rogue was charging at Blob. She was starting to take off her glove when Kine turned to Summers and sent a neural command.

Suddenly, Summers found his body fighting against him as he turned and fired a blast at Rogue. The blast sent her flying to the ground, unconscious. Lance glanced at Kine who gave him a thumbs up. "I've always wanted a Summers punching bag." Lance chuckled as he started punching Scott who was paralyzed by Kine.

Kine then felt a massive headache as Xavier attempted to stop him. Chris sent out psy static which disrupted the professor's telepathy. He then sent higher concentrations at the man, giving Xavier a painful headache. "Heads up." said Evan who gave riding in on a skateboard and clotheslined the two to the ground. Chris sent out static at Evan, causing him a killer headache. His loss of concentration caused him to lose balance and fall off his board.

Jean telekinetically sent Quicksilver flying at Blob, who simply bounced right off him. She also set down Kelly gently. Kitty was disabling the cameras by the news van. Pyro and Amara were still talking among the chaos. "Wait a minute you're with the Brotherhood?" said Amara.

"Is there something wrong with that?" asked Pyro.

"But they're evil. I mean, look what they're doing right now." she said.

"I admit I don't like what's going on but they're not bad guys, just a little crazy." said John, defending his friends.

Storm arrived and started down pouring the entire area with rain. But the Brotherhood were on a roll and they weren't about to quit. Pusher sent out a neural command that forced Storm to come crashing to the ground while Static sent psy static at Kitty and Rogue. The two of them held their heads in pain with Kitty walking backwards towards the damaged building. A piece of falling debris was being loosened unintentionally by Alvers as he caused a tremor that sent Jean flying backwards.

Lance turned to see Kitty about to see crushed and ran towards her. "Kitty, look out!" he yelled. He shoved her out of the way as the debris came crashing down on top of him. All the Brotherhood members were horrified. "Lance!" Kitty yelled, phasing through the debris and pulling him out.

Pyro came running down towards Lance to check on him. Summers got in his way. "What's wrong with you people? Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" Summers yelled at him.

John summoned several flames from the mascot which flew around him in the shapes of eagles. "Back off mate or you'll be gettin put on the barbie." warned Pyro.

Suddenly, everything metallic began to levitate into the air. Two metal supports wrapped around Kurt and Toad individually then pulled them apart. The burning metal mascot was lifted into the air and landed in between Cyclops and John. After seeing the demonstration of whoever was doing this, everyone stopped their attacks. Xavier glanced around, believing it to be Magneto. "That's our que to skedue." said Pietro. All the Brotherhood members walked off away from the field while Fred lifted an unconscious Lance over his shoulders and followed the others.

When they got home, most of them started celebrating. Pietro, Toad, Fred, Chris, and Kine were all cheering. "We beat the X-Geeks! We finally beat 'em!" cheered Fred.

"Yeah, no more getting pushed around. We're the top mutants around here now." said Toad.

"Man, I can't believe how easy that Xavier guy was to beat. I mean he wasn't even a challenge to me." said Chris.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" yelled out Lorna. The cheers were quickly silenced as they stared at an angry Lorna and John. "You morons! What did you think you were doing out there?" Dale yelled at them.

"Beating the X-Men." Pietro said proudly.

Lorna caused a metallic lamp to come flying off the counter and smack him in the back of the head. Pietro slumped to the ground unconscious. Everyone was stunned by that. "You attacked them for no reason and now the entire world knows about us. What's worse, we've lost the element of surprise over the X-Men. The next time we fight them, they'll know what to expect from us." Dale said. The others realized she made a good point.

"Yeah and you morons ruined my night with Amara. I'll be lucky if she ever talks to me again!" said an angry John.

Lance moaned on the couch, starting to regain consciousness. "Kitty?" was the first word that came out of his mouth.

"Oh brother, I'm going to bed. None of you morons better wake me up." Lorna said before heading up to the master suite. She managed to break into Mystique's room months ago, something none of the others could do. She also filled the room with metallic debris, just in cause anyone broke in there and tried to attack her.

"What happened?" said Lance, realizing were he was.

"We beat 'em yo. We knocked the X-Geeks around and walked away victorious." smiled Toad.

Lance didn't celebrate that fact, he just wanted to know one thing. "What about Kitty? Is she okay?" he said, concerned.

"Actually, you managed to save Juliet and then she was all concerned when she pulled you out from under that mascot." said Static.

"She's okay." said a relieved Lance. Everyone else all moaned.

"Hey, at least he's got a chance with her." growled John as he stormed up to his room. Pietro moaned as he was starting to wake up.

"This calls for a celebration yo." said Toad.


	4. Hangover's suck

(For a short but goofy little aftermath chapter. Thank you so much SunshineGirl177 and Courtney Summers for reviewing. I really love to hear that people like my story. I also must pay tribute to Brad Sherwood on Whose Line is it Anyway for Pietro's little song. Enjoy.)

John and Lorna both got up from their alarm clocks. John told her about what he saw on the news and that everyone thought the damage at the soccer field was caused by a fireworks accident. "At least something's looking up around here." she said before they entered the living room, only to find the other Brotherhood members all lying on the floor passed out from drinking too much.

"WAKE UP!" yelled Lorna. All the boys were instantly awake and screaming. "Get up, we're going to school. Xavier altered everyone's memories at the game last night so everyone thinks it was fireworks that caused all the damage." said Lorna before heading towards the kitchen.

"Well then I guess I better get ready." said Lance who wobbled towards the bathroom.

"Forget that, I'm not going until my hangover is done." said Toad. Everyone else agreed. While the others past out again, Lorna, Lance, and John all drove to school in Lance's jeep. (Of course, Lorna was driving. Lance can't drive drunk.)

When they got to school, they had to help Lance walk inside. "Lance the next time you get a hangover, make sure it's on the weekend." growled Lorna.

"Kitty." Lance muttered. Both John and Dale both shook their heads.

They set him down in the cafeteria and got their own seats waiting for the bell. "She's never gonna talk to me again." John moaned to himself.

Lorna slapped her face. "Not you too." she growled.

"It's okay man. All you've got to do is show her just how much you really care about her." Lance said in a funny voice.

"Yeah, be like Lance and try to impress a girl by squashing the principal with a scoreboard." replied Lorna.

Later on in Literature class, it was already the second day and everyone had to get partners for a big project coming up. And of course, the teacher was choosing partners and chose Rogue and Lorna to work together. Both of them moaned. At lunch, Rogue was already complaining to the rest of the X-Men. "Ah can't believe this. Why is it ah always have to work with somebody on opposing teams?" she moaned, remembering being partnered with Scott when she was with the Brotherhood.

"Hey at least you don't have phys ed class with Pietro. The guy gives me a wedgie everyday no matter what I do." said Daniels. No sooner did he say that when the rest of the Brotherhood showed up and I mean every one of them.

They were still somewhat drunk but could walk straight as they took their seats. Both sides were glaring at one another. Of course, Pietro was the first to say something to the Brotherhood. "You know something boys, I think we should have a little karaoke." he said.

"Huh?" said Kine.

"You know a little karaoke. Singing, dancing, that kind of stuff." said Pietro.

"And sing about what?" said Fred.

"My favorite topic of course. Tormenting Daniels" snickered Pietro. The others all shrugged and started clapping to a tune. Everyone glanced over at them when Pietro started singing. "Well I knew Daniel's mother, yes I must tell the truth. When she was nursing Evan, her milk was ninety proof. She wanted to kick the habit, she didn't know what to do. But if your child looked like that then you'd be drinking too." Everyone in the cafeteria (except the X-Men) busted up laughing. Daniels was about to charge at Pietro before Summers and Kurt held him back. All the Brotherhood boys were clapping and cheering. Lorna rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"That's enough Maximoff. Another chorus and it's detention for a week." said Mr. Thompson who overheard the commotion.

"Oh, come now. We were just having a little fun." chuckled Pietro as he sat down.

"I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna kill him!" yelled Daniels.

(Do ya like it? Let me know. And from now on, I am going to be adding hints as to what happens next chapter at the end. Next up is some fun at the Bayville Carnival Fundraiser. Yes, that's a disaster waiting to happen.)


	5. Fun at the Carnivale

Author Disclaimer: I believe I forget to say that I don't own any of these characters and that Marvel does. But then again you already know that so what's the point? Darn lawyers. So please Marvel, don't sue me.

(You're right SunshineGirl177, I do update a lot. The reason being is that I've been writing this story for months now just for fun. I have a lot of material written down and I'm just simply posting it onto Fanfic. I do have some big ideas for Season Three and Four and there will be major changes then. But enough of my praddling, on with the story.)

A month goes by without much incident between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. Lance and Kitty were hanging out more often and Amara started talking to John again. Of course, everyone else hated this. John and Lance found that out every day.

"Here Kitty Kitty Kitty." Pietro mocked Lance as he walked by. Ignoring him, he walked into the kitchen and turned on the sink to wash his face. To his surprise, nothing came out.

"Oh man now they shut the water off." Lance moaned. First it was the electricity and now this.

"What we need is some serious corn yo." said Toad who hopped in.

Lance hit one of the cupboards in frustration, which fell off after the impact. "No water, no electricity, and the place is falling apart. Forget this, I'm off to school." he said.

Kine and Terrance were sitting in the living room and both started singing a tune similar to the Wizard of Oz. "He's off to see his kitty. His precious little kitty. Because, because, because, becauuuuuusssse. Because he's hopelessly in love," they laughed.

Lance growled at them while he grabbed his book bag and headed towards the door. "Wait up mate." said John who came running down the stairs along with Lorna. The three of them were the only ones that actually went to school now.

On the drive there, Lance realized something. "Hey Lorna, you've been with us for a while now and you still don't have a nickname yet." said Lance.

"What are you talking about?" Lorna moaned.

"You know I'm Avalanche and John is Pyro. But you still don't have a name." said Lance.

"Hey the bloke has a point." said John.

Lorna didn't really care about nicknames. All she cared about was getting from one day to the next. "What makes you think I need one?" she said.

"Even Xavier and his nerds have 'em as well. It almost seems like a prerequisite to being a mutant." said John.

"I don't care what Xavier and the others call themselves. I'm not one of them." Lorna replied. But seeing that they weren't going to let it drop, a name popped into her head. "Polaris." she said.

"Huh?" asked Lance.

"Polaris, that's my new name." Lorna replied.

"Polaris? What kind of a name is that? Why not something that actually makes sense like magnet girl?" said Pyro.

Both Lance and Lorna threw him a look. "What Amara sees in you, I will never know." Lorna muttered, shaking her head.

"Hey!" said John.

Later that night, the entire Brotherhood decided to have some fun at the Bayville High Carnival Fundraiser. Chris and Benedict were hanging out with Pietro at the basketball machine. The three of them were making constant bets on who can score the most and, much to the dismay of his fellow teammates, Pietro kept winning. "This is where all my hard work and dedication as PS 104's number one basketball star pays off." he bragged.

"I thought that was Daniels." said Terrance, knowing that would tick Maximoff.

"What?! That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard off. Let's see Daniels do this." Pietro said before landing five more shots in a row. Kine winked at Terrance and sent a neural command that cause Pietro to slam the ball hard into his head. "OWW!" said Pietro before he fell to the ground. Chris and Benedict both laughed at his misery.

Meanwhile, Lance and Kitty were hanging out with John and Amara at the Ferris wheel, leaving Fred and Todd all by themselves as they went around sliming people and stealing their wallets. "Eighty bucks already Blob. At this rate we'll be able to afford some decent food for the next week." said Toad. Fred and Toad gave each other a high five.

After Pietro ran off in a temper tantrum, Pusher and Static decided to see who else they could mess around with. That's when they noticed Jean and Duncan. "Oh, the lovers have arrived." said Static.

"Why don't we make this date even more romantic." chuckled Pusher before sending a neural command that caused Jean to leap forward and kiss Duncan on the cheek as she wrapped her arms around him.

"What the…" Jean exclaimed. Duncan was a little stunned but was understandably happy about this. While Jean let go of him, she didn't noticed Kine and Terrance laughing at them.

"Oh that was good. Do it again." said Chris.

Kine glanced around and noticed Summers and Taryn riding the Ferris wheel. "Hmm, I think it's about time Summers got de-virginized." Pusher said before sending a neural command that forced Taryn to lean forward and kiss Summers on the cheek.

When she regained control, she nearly screamed as she jumped back. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry Scott. I don't know what came over me." Taryn said with the reddest cheeks one can have.

Summers glanced down to see Kine and Terrance laughing at them. "It's alright Taryn." he said.

"And who said carnivals were boring?" laughed Terrance.

Meanwhile, Boom Boom threw an explosive into Freddy's hot dog which exploded ketchup and mustard all over his face. "Hey! This wasn't what I meant when I said I wanted it loaded." he growled.

Toad glanced over and saw Tabby and Kurt. "That's it. Die Fuzzy!" yelled Todd as he and Blob charged after them.

Elsewhere, Lorna and Rogue were both hanging out with Risty by the target practice stand. "Thanks for letting me come with you. I swear if I had to come with any of my moronic housemates I'd go crazy." said Lorna.

"Why do you live with those hoods anyways?" asked Risty.

"They may be idiots but they're been family to me ever since I got to Bayville and I'll take them over my old foster homes any day of the week." said Lorna.

"Trust me, live there for a few more months and you'll reconsider that." said Rogue.

Toad and Blob continued their search for Kurt and Tabby. "That blue furred freak's gonna get it this time." Toad said.

"Hey, there's that girl blue boy was with." Fred said, pointing to where Tabby and her father were talking. The two of them snuck up as close as they could without being seen.

"You're gonna blow it and I'm gonna clean it out." said the old man.

"No no no, bad plan." said Tabby.

"Tabby, just this one big take and I'm gone within the hour. I promise." said the old man.

"Fine, then let's just get it over with." said Tabby, caving in.

"That's my girl." said the father as he led her towards the High School.

Toad and Fred exchanged evil smiles. "Let's find the others." said Toad.

Lorna, Rogue, and Misty were finishing a horse shoe throwing contest when Daniels came running up. "Yo Rogue, we've got trouble. Scott needs us all at the High School gym now." he said.

Rogue groaned then turned to Lorna and Misty. "I'll catch up to ya'll later." she said before running off with Evan.

"What do you think that was about?" asked Risty.

"I don't know but I think I'm going to find out." said Lorna, running after Rogue.

At the wrecked school gym, Pusher, Static, and Blob all waited as Toad came hopping in with the cash. Chasing after him were Tabby and her father. "Sorry yo, finders keepers." said Toad.

"And losers headaches." said Static before sending psy static at the father and daughter.

The two of them held their heads in pain when suddenly, the wall was blasted opened. Revealing Cyclops, Jean, Spyke, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. "Anybody seen a lost bag of cash?" asked Summers.

"Don't you morons ever learn?" moaned Pusher. He sent a neural command that forced Rogue to take off her gloves and grabbed Spyke on the face. Spyke was down and out while Rogue's body suddenly grew bone spikes all over her body. "Oh man and I thought she had a hard enough time getting a date." laughed Pusher. Jean sent a telekinetic blast that sent him flying into the wall.

Static sent psy static at all of the X-Men, giving them massive headaches. Cyclops managed to steady his aim and fire an optic blast that knocked Static to the ground. "Ouch." moaned Static.

Toad tried to run off with the cash but was intercepted by Nightcrawler. The two of them continued to exchange left and rights as Blob charged at Rogue. She grew two spikes on her feet like stilts and grew some rounded spikes on her hand. Using the stilts, she leaped over Blob and then nailed him in the back of the head with the rounded spikes. Blob stumbled from the impact and ran right into a wall before dropping. Jean used her telekinesis to send Toad flying and Kurt got the bag of cash.

Suddenly, the metallic rim on the basketball hoop ripped off and flew towards Kurt. Before he even knew what was happening, it wrapped around him and hurled him into the wall. Several metallic bars flew into the air and wrapped around the other X-Men. They were then forced into the wall then more metallic pipes flew over and pinned them to the wall.

"Get the cash!" yelled Tabby's father. The roof was suddenly ripped open as a figure floated inside. The being was completely covered in armor that seemed to be put together by hundreds of metallic scraps and superglue. Nothing fancy about the armor, it looked like junk more than anything. The only noticeable features about it were the eye holes and nostril slots to see and breathe through. Metal supports inside the walls suddenly broke through and grabbed Tabby and her father, pinning them along with the others.

"It that Magneto?" yelled Rogue, trying to get free. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood members were all getting to their feet.

The figure glanced down at them and pointed towards the door. The message was simple: GET OUT. "Let's get out of here." said Toad before moving towards the bag. Several metallic debris suddenly broke off the figure's armor and floated around the bag, preventing Todd from grabbing it. "Oh, c'mon." said Toad. He didn't get a chance to say anything else before the debris wrapped around him and hurled him through the opening in the wall.

The armored figure glanced over at the trapped X-Men. Suddenly, the bars all came loose and the X-Men were free. Each and every one of them were too confused to attempt anything as the figure floated away. "Magneto? But what the heck was he doing here? And why didn't he let Toad take the cash?" asked Rogue.

"I don't know." said Summers. They all heard police sirens. "But we'll worry about that later. We need to get out of here."

Later on, the carnival was just about to end as the four lovebirds Lance, Kitty, John, and Amara were enjoying a late night snack at a picnic table. They can hear the sirens in the background. "I wonder what that's all about?" wondered Kitty.

"Who cares? the police can handle it." said John who was eating a large pretzel.

Alvers noticed Summers, Daniels, Jean, Rogue, and Kurt (all in civilian clothing) walking up to them with less than happy faces. "And I was hoping to spend one day with Kitty without Summers butting in." Lance muttered under his breath. "What do you want Summers?" growled Alvers when his arch rival got close.

Scott, not being one to waste time, grabbed Lance by the shirt and lifted him up. "Alright Alvers, what's going on with Magneto?" demanded Summers.

Lance, not going to take being pushed around by Scott, shoves him away. "What are you talking about? We haven't seen Magneto in months." replied Alvers, ready for a fight.

"Oh yeah, he just saved your buddies before they stole the carnival's proceeds." said Rogue.

"Hey, we didn't know nothin 'bout that. We were all together here the whole time, honest." said John.

"I'll even prove it to you. Go ahead Red, scan me. You'll know I had nothing to do with what happened." challenged Lance.

Jean smirked then concentrated. After a moment, Jean responded. "He's telling the truth. He doesn't know anything about the cash." said Jean.

"Then maybe you could try keeping your buddies in line." sneered Summers.

John suddenly lashed out and slugged Scott right in the face. As much as Lance enjoyed that, he pulled John away while Summers recovered from the blow. "John!" yelled a stunned Amara.

"I've had enough of you blokes! I tried to be nice to everyone of you X-Goons and except for Amara, all you treat me like garbage. Putting me down whenever you get the chance. Nothing we do is good enough for any of you. Fine then screw all of you!" yelled John who stormed off.

Lance turned to Kitty. "I think I better go." he said before taking off after John.

When they were a good distance away from the X-Men, Lance decided to talk. "Hey John, what was that all about?" asked Lance.

"Every time I try to be nice to 'em, they still treat me like a thug and I'm sick of it." growled John.

"What do you even bother trying to be friends with them anyways?" wondered Lance.

"Because I thought it would help me out with Amara by being friends with all of her friends. But noooooo, I'm just not good enough for them." said John.

"Hey relax, I'm never nice to any of those guys but Kitty still likes me. Trust me, just worry about Amara and forget about the rest of them." said Lance

"Why did you do that? I had the bag in my hands yo!" moaned Toad. Polaris didn't want to hear any of it as they entered the home.

"Because slimeball that money was meant to help people and I'm not going to help a bunch of thugs steal from charity." said Lorna.

Toad scoffed and went into the living room with the others. Lorna was heading up to her room when Pietro zoomed right in front of her. "Hi Lorna." he said.

"What do you want?" he asked, annoyed and wanting to get some sleep.

"Alright, I'll be frank with you. You have a problem. The others are really starting to question whether you should be with us or not." said Pietro.

"I'm starting to ask myself the same question." muttered Lorna.

"Where would you go? The X-Geeks?" said Pietro.

"Of course not, but…I don't know." said Lorna.

"Look, even you can admit that we really need some money right about now and I think that if you can help me get it, all those doubts about you will go away." said Pietro.

"Get money how?" asked Lorna.

"With your magnetic powers and my speed, we could empty an entire bank vault with no problem" said Pietro.

"Forget it." said Lorna who turned and walked away.

"Lorna, we're doing this to survive. What are we going to do if we don't get any money soon, turn to the X-Men? We have these powers and there's no code that says we can't use them in a particular way. Besides, all the money in banks are insured. Think of like this, we take the money from the bank who'll get their money back anyways from the government. So the only people we'll be screwing over is the government and they screw us over on our taxes so think of it as payback." explained Pietro.

As much as Lorna didn't like this, she couldn't deny the fact that they needed money. Now she was starting to see how blurry right and wrong get when you're desperate. She didn't want to become a thug but she needed money just like everyone else. "Alright, I'll do it." said Lorna.

"Perfect." smiled Pietro.

Later that night, everyone was in bed sleeping when they heard a loud. "WAKE UP! CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY!" yelled Pietro from the living room.

Toad and Fred were both up immediately. "Presents!" they both yelled happily.

Chris and Benedict moaned. "Christmas? It's not even December." grumbled Kine.

"WOOOOOO! Look at all the money!" yelled out Fred.

In a second, everyone was rushing downstairs to see a large stack of money bags all sitting in the living room. Standing next to it were Pietro and Lorna. "Boys, as of this moment your money problems are a thing of the past." said Lorna.

"Alright, I knew you'd come around." said Toad as he jumped into the pile.

"I'm swimming in money." sang Toad as he laughed. Everyone started grabbing bags and pulling out the money.

"Wow, how much money is this?" asked Lance.

"Give me a sec." said Pietro. He started counting all the money with superspeed. A few seconds later, he was done. "Approximately twenty million dollars." he said. Everyone's jaw hit the floor. "What? We robbed more than one bank." said Pietro.

(For your information, I'm not having Tabitha join the Brotherhood. The reason being that I just can't write with her properly. All the dialogue I come up with her just doesn't sound right. I'm sorry if this offends any Boom Boom fans out there.)


	6. Is there an Exorcist in the house?

(Please SunshineGirl177, keep reviewing as much as you want. I enjoy feedback. I'm sorry that I forgot to keep a preview of what is to come for this chapter. I'll try not to forget from now. For this chapter, well I think the title speaks for itself. It's short but hilarious.)

The next day, everyone was still celebrating their new windfall. Then Toad spotted someone walking up to the house. "Oh no. It's those door to door sales people again." he said.

Everyone moaned. "Don't they have anyone else to bother." groaned Lance.

Every one sighed except Pietro who was smiling. "Don't fret boys. I've got a plan." he said with an evil smile on his face.

At the door the two people in business suit had knocked for about a minute before Lance and Pietro opened the door and pulled them inside. "Quick! We need your help!" said a terrified Lance. (Acting of course.)

"Our friend has been possessed by a demon." said a scared Pietro. (Also acting)

"What? What are you…" said one of them before Lance and Pietro dragged the two of them upstairs. They opened the door to Toad's room where Todd was lying on a bed, moaning like a zombie. The room was dark as the windows were covered and only a few candles gave off light.

"He's possessed I tell you." said Pietro. Suddenly Lorna used her magnetism powers to lift the metal frame of the bed. This gave the appearance that the bed floated which terrified the newcomers.

"Now you have to be careful. Otherwise, he might take your soul." said Lance.

Toad turned to them. "Who daresssssss enter my housssssse?" he said in the scariest voice he could make.

"Are you really of the devil?" asked one of them.

"Yessssssssss." Toad said with an evil laugh. Then the fire on the candles began to grow and take shapes of demons. They flew around the room, scaring the witnesses even further. One of the flame demons flew over Toad a little too close. "Ahh." he said before turning to his side. "Careful. You nearly synched my eyebrows." whispered Toad.

"Sorry." said a whisper under the bed.

"Bow before meeeeeeee." said an evil voiced Toad. Kine then sent neural commands that caused the two of them down on their knees.

"This is impossible." said one of the strangers, trying to gain control of his body.

"You cannot essssssssscape, your fatessssssss are ssssssssssssealed." laughed Toad before spitting slime onto both of them. "YESSSSSSS! You are mine!" Just then, Kine released his control and they stumbled to their feet. "NOOOO! You cannot esssssssscape me!" yelled Toad. Then Alvers started shaking up the house.

By now, both men were practically wetting their pants. "My loyal subjectssssssss. Seize them." said Toad.

Then Fred busted out of the closet and started walking towards them. The two backed off into the hallway where Kine and Terrance were waiting. They started walking towards them as well. "You cannot leave." they both said.

The two suits screamed and ran downstairs and out the door as fast as they could. All the Brotherhood ran to nearby windows and watched them run off. Finally after holding it in so long, they all busted up laughing.

"Oh that was awesome." chuckled Toad.

"Oh man, that was great." agreed John.

"We should do this often." said Lorna, who really enjoyed watching this.

"You know the mailman's coming later." said Pietro. Evil smiles formed on all their faces.

(Silly isn't? But I'm not done with my funny spell. Next chapter will be even goofier. Here a mathematical equation: What happens when you take X-Men + Brotherhood + Wal-Mart. The answer: complete chaos and I hope you enjoy every minute of it.)


	7. A Shopping We Will Go

(Ask and ye shall receive, I am making yet another posting today. I'm curious though, have I set a new record for most postings in a day? Just wondering. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.)

The next day was a nightmare, the X-Men were constantly harassing the Brotherhood, believing they were responsible for the robbery of over four banks last night. "Those blokes are getting so annoying." said an angry John later at lunch. "Yeah, they didn't let up with me for one minute. I have the same class as Dog breath (Wolfsbane) and she just wouldn't let it go." said Kine.

"Rogue thinks I had nothing to do with it." chuckled Lorna. "Unbelievable." said Terrance. "Oh no, here they come again." said Toad, seeing the X-Men walking towards them. "Oh crap, we have to do something otherwise we'll have to listen to another one of red's lectures." said Pietro.

When the X-Men got up to the table, Summers was about to speak when Alvers held up his hand and spoke first. "Wait Summers. We need to be ready for the upcoming lecture." he said. Then the entire Brotherhood put on headphones and starting playing their new I-Pods as loud as possible. In fact, you could make out the lyrics to each of their songs. "Okay, we're ready." chuckled Alvers.

Later after school, Toad was spying on the X-Men at the picnic grounds. Most of them got a chuckle at finally getting under the Brotherhood's skin. "Who knew asking the same question over and over again would work so well on them." said Daniels.

"Forget about them for a minute, we need to get to Wal-Mart and grab everything else we need for the party this weekend." said Summers.

"When are we going?" asked Kurt. "Right after we stop at the Institute and have Storm give us the lists." said Jean. While they continued talking, Toad leaped away. He just had a brilliant idea.

Scott, Kurt, Jean, Kitty, Daniels, and Rogue all arrived at Wal-Mart to get the last items for Jean's birthday party. A few minutes after arriving, the chaos began. "Attention Wal-Mart shoppers. Will the dork with the red car please clean up the sewage in it, it's very disgusting." Pietro's voice came over the intercom. "Wait a minute…My car!!!" yelled Summers as he took off out to the parking lot.

Daniels, meanwhile, was grabbing some food then head into the next aisle. "Loser on aisle seventeen." Pietro's voice came over the intercom. Evan noticed that he was standing in aisle seventeen. He growled as he headed into the next one. "Loser on aisle eighteen." said the intercom. "That's it Pietro!!!" yelled Daniels.

Rogue was at the customer service area, trying to get a refund on one of her shirts when suddenly, the receptionist started talking in absolute gibberish. "Jack ice seat bow quill moat." said the receptionist. Rogue tried to say what the heck but it came out as, "Dos ram penny?" Nearby, Terrance was cracking up laughing as everyone in the area was yelling gibberish to each other due to his psychic static.

"Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, the customer service area is currently re-enacting the Tower of Babel. All further communications in that area will be done via notepads." laughed Pietro over the intercom.

"Also a notice to all bone-headed porcupines, there is a sale of brains on aile twenty-one. Lord knows you need 'em." laughed Pietro yet again over the intercom. Kurt meanwhile was in the frozen section. He didn't see John pull out his lighter and send a flame up towards the sprinklers. They all went off and sprayed the entire frozen section.

Kurt's image inducer malfunctioned and everyone started screaming upon seeing the blue demon. Kurt screamed himself and ported away. John busted up laughing. "Choke on that smurfboy." he said out loud.

"Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, blue demons are currently haunting the frozen food section. Please maintain your distance as wet fur stinks." said Pietro over the intercom.

Nearby, Jean noticed the stampede of customers running out of the frozen section. She didn't notice a lawnmower moving down the ailes by itself and coming up behind her. It turned and knocked her up into the air.

She screamed as she landed on the seat and piece of the metallic side broke off and restrained her to the chair. The engine started up and went at full speeds down the aile as Jean screamed. Watching the whole thing was Lorna, enjoying Jean's misery.

"Attention, will the redheaded maniac please cease and desist mowing the clothing section." laughed Pietro once again over the intercom. That's when Daniels came up behind him. "Gotcha ya." said Evan.

"Oh hi Daniels. I'm just having a little fun, care to join in?" chuckled Pietro who tossed the intercom phone at him. On instinct, Daniels caught it and Quicksilver zoomed off. Just then, the security guards arrived. "Alright son, playtime is over." one of them said. "Wait a minute." Daniels tried to explain before they took him away.

Meanwhile, Lance was of course talking to Kitty. "Pietro really likes that intercom." she said. "Of course he loves it, he gets to hear the sound of his own voice or perfection as he calls it." said Lance. That's when they both noticed Summers walking towards them completely covered in slime.

"What happened to you?" asked Kitty. "Looks like he got into an argument with Toad…and lost." chuckled Lance. Scott grabbed Lance by the shirt. "You little!!!" yelled an angry Scott. Lance shoved him away and Kitty had to get in between the two of them.

"Guys! Cut it out. What happened Scott?" she said. "Fred and Toad were dumping buckets of slime on my car. When I tried to stop 'em, they decided to dump the rest of the crap on me." said Scott.

Lance sniffed the air. "Oh, so he used them all up huh?" chuckled Lance. "Did you know something about this Lance?" demanded Kitty. "Somewhat, Toad's been filling up buckets full of slime for a while now. We thought it might come in handy in the future. But I had no idea they were going to do this." Lance said, holding up his hands.

He knew they were going to do something but told the others not to tell him. That way he had deniability. Rogue came running up to them and gasped. "What is that? You smell like Toad?" she said holding her nose. "Long story, what's up?" moaned Scott.

"Jean and Even are being detained by security." replied Rogue. "Huh? What for?" said Scott. Rogue glared at Lance. "Why don't you ask him?" she growled. The others all stared at Lance. He was trying to come up with something to say to Kitty when Pietro zipped in.

"Hi ya folks. Why Scott, I'm glad you finally found your calling as a sewage worker. It's appropriate." chuckled Pietro. Scott lunged at the speed demon who easily dodged him and Scott fell to the floor. "Alright fearless leader, we're going to offer you a truce. Don't bother us about those bank robberies, which we had nothing to do with by the way, and we won't do this to you on a weekly basis." said Pietro.

"Fine, you've got yourself a deal. Now let's get out of here." said Rogue. Kitty threw Lance a dirty look and walked off with the others. Lance moaned, much to Pietro's amusement. "Ah man. I knew this was a bad idea." Lance said. "Oh come on. I'll give her a week then she'll forgive ya. Besides, you have to admit. Seeing Summers in Toad sludge was well worth it." chuckled Pietro. Lance nodded in agreement.

(Okay, my funny spell is over for now but expect it to return in the future. Next chapter gets serious when Pyro's powers are enhanced beyond his control and since his powers involves fire then you can probably already guess that's bad for everybody. Take care.)


	8. Inferno

(Okay time for some serious stories. I won't be able to post so many chapters in one day from now on but I'll try not to keep anyone waiting for future chapters. Alright, enjoy.)

John awoke with a massive headache. It's been a week since the robbery and that was about the time his headaches acted up. They started off small but they've been growing over time. And now, he always felt hot and his body always seemed to sweat. John wasn't sure what was happening but it must not have been anything good. The others encouraged him to stay in bed and that he had the flu or something.

But for the moment, John was starving as he forced himself out of bed and downstairs where Fred was preparing breakfast. The fat man really knew how to cook a good omelet. "Morning Mr. Torch." said Fred as he was cooking some eggs. "Funny." said John, not amused as he took his seat.

In the following week, the Brotherhood was busy. Lorna gave the boys an ultimatum and it was simple. Either fix the house or lose the cash. So the past week, the group of misfits were trying to spice up the boarding home. The key word in that sentence was try.

"OWWW!" yelled Toad from outside. "Oh crickey, how many times has he bloody done that?" grumbled John, referring to the number of times Toad hit his fingers with a hammer by accident. "Do you want me to count just the normal fingers or do you want the thumbs included as well?" asked Fred.

"Oh man, I feel so hot." moaned John. Pietro zoomed in. "I feel like that all the time." said Pietro. The others rolled their eyes. "Get back here Kine and die like a man!" Chris yelled outside. "You'd think those two would get tired of their little hose wars." grumbled Lance as he entered the room.

"Breakfast is served." said Fred who finished making his famous omelet sandwiches that the Brotherhood was accustomed to. They all started to eat when some water was sprayed in through an open window. The others all growled and glanced out the window to Chris holding the hose with a startled look on his face.

Chris quickly pointed to Kine. "He made me do it." Chris said. "I did not. Youlsss may taporon de yorvos." Kine started saying before he realized that Chris was using psy static on him. Getting payback, Kine sent a neural command that forced Chris to spray himself in the face.

The others all got back to their breakfast. Pyro took a bite on his sandwich then it started. His sandwich bursted into flames, but he didn't know because he's immune to fire and heat. Plus, his mind was on his own misery. The other all gasped at his burning sandwich.

"John, put it out!" yelled Pietro. John glanced at his sandwich and realized what he was talking about. With a squint of his eye, the flame disappeared. "Hey man, what's the big deal? I cooked it just the way you wanted it." said Fred.

"I um…I didn't do that. At least, I don't think I did." said a confused John. "What are you talking about?" demanded Lance. "I can't create fire. I've never ever been able to." said John. "Yeah well, that fire didn't start by itself." said Pietro.

John managed to get Lance to take him along for school. Alvers didn't like it, especially with how bad John looked but John refused to be left behind. "The dance is coming up next week. Amara's a very beautiful sheila and I already know she's going to be asked by a lot of people. That's why I have to be sure to ask her first." explained John.

"Why couldn't you do it over the phone?" wondered Lance as they stepped into the hallways. "Because, doing it in person leaves a much better first impression. You better ask Kitty quickly because something tells me Baby boy smurf is gonna try." said John, referring to Kurt.

"Nah, he's got his eye on some girl in his math class. Amanda I think." said Lance. "Hah, I can only imagine her face when she touches his fur." laughed John. Then the pain got worse and John stumbled to the nearby lockers. "Hey man, are you alright?" asked Lance.

Suddenly, the lockers he was touching started to smoke. John backed away then they bursted into flames. Lance glanced around, glad that no was around. "John, put 'em out!" yelled Lance. John concentrated and the fires extinguished.

"What's wrong with you? You can't do that in school." yelled an angry Lance. "Lance, I shouldn't be able to that period. I told you before, I can't start fires." said John, starting to get very worried.

The pain came again, so bad that John screamed. Nearby, Principal Kelly heard the screams and came running down the hallway. He was about to turn the corner when suddenly, a burst of flames flew around the corner. Kelly had to jump into a nearby closet to avoid getting burned.

The fire alarms went off in the building and everyone started bolting to the doors. Outside, the X-Men were all standing together while the Brotherhood were nearby, except for Lance. They all noticed him stumbling out of the building with his clothes charred and coughing.

He nearly fell to his feet if Pietro didn't zoom over and held him up. Flames started to burst out of the windows, sending glass everywhere. Pietro helped Lance over to the others as the X-Men joined them.

"What's going on?" asked Scott. "It's Pyro (cough), something's wro- (cough)…wrong with him. (cough) He can't control his powers." said Lance. "We've got to stop him." said Jean. "Be my guest." said Pietro, pointing to the flames that were coming out of every door and window.

A van pulled up and Xavier and Storm got out. "Where's Pyro?" asked Storm. "In there (cough)." coughed Lance, pointing to the building. "What's going on professor?" asked Kitty. "Cerebro detected a spike in Pyro's mutant gene. The last time we saw that was with Jean." said Xavier, referring to the time when she lost control and wrecked the entire medical room. And nearly destroyed the entire mansion.

"His powers are evolving too rapidly for him to control." continued Xavier. "I can get to him. My body can handle the heat." said Amara who changed into her molten form. She took running towards the building. "Amara wait!" yelled Xavier but she kept going.

She passed through the burning flames with no pain. Her body was able to handle heat from lava. The flames covered everything, turning the school into a literal picture of hell. Despite the chaos, Amara managed to make out a scream coming from the locker area.

"John!" yelled Amara as she ran down the corridor. She rounded a corner to find John on the floor, flames coming out of his body. "Help me! Please help me." whimpered John. "John, it's alright. I'm here." said Amara, touching him by the shoulders.

He glanced up to see her. "Amara? You have to get out of here! I can't control it." he begged. "I can take the heat." said Amara. "No, the pain is coming again. It's getting worse!!!" yelled John. Suddenly, his entire body turned into white flames. A being composed of pure white fire.

"AHHHH!" yelled John. Outside, the others watched in disbelief as a fireball shot up out of the rooftop and headed towards the nearby woods. The flames in the school began to die down as Amara came running out.

"What happened in there?" asked Storm. "His body turned into pure fire then he flew right through the roof." said Amara. "That fireball must have been him." said Summers. "Then what are we waiting for (cough)? Let's (cough)." coughed Lance.

"No, Lance you need to get to a hospital. Kitty, there is an ambulance nearby, take him to it." said Xavier. Kitty nodded and helped Lance walk. "The rest of you into the woods." said Xavier. "Hey wait a minute? Since when are we taking orders from you?" snickered Pietro.

"Oh stuff your ego for once Pietro, we need to help John." said Toad.

Both the X-Men and Brotherhood found themselves together walking through the woods. None of them liked working together but neither side felt that they had any choice in the matter.

Their search didn't take long before they found something. A tornado made of pure white flames spun around in the center of a recently made crater. Demon-shaped flames flew out of the tornado and started burning the nearby vegetation. The flames also seemed to move and react as if sentient.

Storm summoned heavy rain but that didn't seem to have any affect on the tornado or demon flames. "Okay, now what?" said Nightcrawler. "Chuck, can you stop him?" asked Wolverine. Xavier concentrated but then cringed. "No, his mind is too jumbled." he replied. "I think we have bigger problems, like that tornado is getting bigger." said Summers and he was right.

The flame tornado was now almost a hundred feet tall and growing. "Good thing, this isn't night. Otherwise, the whole city would have seen this." said Daniels. "And those demon things are spreading out. If we don't stop 'em, they're gonna move into the city." said Wolverine.

"Let me go. If Ah use Amara's power, Ah can get close enough to touch him just like we did with Jean." said Rogue. "Yeah." said Amara, agreeing. "Alright, but be careful. The rest of you stop those flames." said Xavier.

Amara held out her hand as Rogue took off her gloves. "Sorry about this." said Rogue before touching Amara's hand. The others were having a hard time fighting pure fire. Summers fired his optic blasts which only went straight through the demon fire.

They retaliated by swooping towards him. Jean managed to push them back but couldn't vanquish them. Storm summoned a whirlwind which extinguished them. But more demons emerged from the tornado and were quickly threatening to overrun everyone.

Pietro kept the Brotherhood safe by spinning at super speed to create a cyclone and blew away any fires. Rogue charged towards the massive flame tornado and all the demons turned and flew after her. She quickly entered Amara's molten form as they flew through her.

Seeing that this wasn't working, the demon fires starting flying through the nearby trees which melted their roots and caused them to collapse. Rogue had to avoid getting crushed as the trees came down. The others could only watch and hope that Rogue was successful.

When she finally reached the crater, she disappeared in the cyclone. She emerged into the center where Pyro was floating in air, his body covered in white flames. "Stop! Stop!" he begged to seemingly no one. "That's what ah'm here for." said Rogue before touching him.

And just like the time she touched Jean, Rogue's mind went crazy. The amount of power inside Pyro was too much to handle. She held on as long as she could, trying not to pass out. The fire tornado began to diminish around her. "C'mon John, help me." she said. It was in that moment that Pyro opened his eyes.

"Rogue? Is that you?!" said John. "Stop this, John. Clear your head." Rogue said as she fell to her knees. John concentrated and the flames all dissipated. With that done, Pyro passed out and so did Rogue. The others came running up to them. "AHHH! I did not need to see him naked!" gasped Toad.

No one noticed an observer, who saw everything, walking away.

Back at the Xavier Institute, John was resting in the medical room. The Brotherhood were all sitting outside along with Xavier and Beast. "So, is he gonna be okay?" asked Lance. "Yes, it appears that what ever mutation happened seems to have burned itself out. John's powers are back to normal." said Xavier.

"But there is one problem. I found multiple injection marks on his body and they were all very recent. Does John take drugs?" asked Beast.

"What…No!!" yelled Pietro. "Dude, the guy won't even lite a cigarette." said Chris. "He's as clean as they come…at least for us." said Toad. "Although he has been feeling like crap the past week." said Kine. "Yeah, we thought it was the flu." said Fred.

"I'm afraid it was no flu. I believe someone has been using Pyro as a guinea pig." said Beast. That shocked the others. "Whatever drugs our culprit used did more then just help John reach his mutant power potential, it evolved the X-Gene itself. We saw a similar case with Scott and Alex back on Asteroid M." Beast continued.

"Then who did this?" asked Lance. "That we don't know, but I doubt they'll stop at just this." said Xavier.

Elsewhere, in a secret underground complex. The observer had returned and moved into an advanced looking lab. Inside was a young unnaturally pale man. "How did the test go?" he asked.

The observer shaped shifted into her true form, with green skin and long red hair. "Better then we ever could have hoped. John is barely a level four mutant but the powers he wielded surpassed even a level five." Mystique said. "Excellent, I believe it is time to move onto the next phase." said Nathaniel Essex.

(Hahahahaha. An evil cliffhanger. Trust me, this story is going to have a major impact down the road for the X-Men. Next chapter, Lorna discovers the man who got her stepparents killed and decides to get revenge. While the X-Men try to stop her from making a deadly mistake, Magneto and his Acolytes have different plans for Lorna.


	9. Turning Point

(On with the next chapter, which is the longest one yet. Feedback is always appreciated.)

A few days go by without incident. The school was closed for the next few weeks and the dance was cancelled. The others didn't really bug John that much, he was very depressed after all that happened to him. But a few water balloon fights with everyone else seemed to get his spirits back up.

The boys were having another one of their water balloon fights when a car pulled up in front of the house. Inside were Jean, Kitty, and Rogue. They waited as Lorna came out the front and got in with them.

"Thanks. If I had to go through one more water balloon fight, I'd go crazy." said Lorna as they drove off towards the mall. "So how's John?" asked Jean. "He's actually doing pretty good. The boys may be insane but at least they can show him a good time." said Lorna.

When they all got to the mall, they did the usual things girls do in a mall which is check everything out in the every single store. After a few hours of just hanging out, the four decided to get lunch. "So, you managed to finally get those hooligans to fix the house." said Rogue, remembering how nice it looked when they picked up Lorna.

"Well, they tried to fix it. But after a while, they finally got it looking pretty good." said Lorna. "How'd you convince those guys to do it anyways?" asked Jean. "I'm the only girl in the Brotherhood. I've learned to become very persuasive." said Lorna.

"Let me guess, you threatened to chop them up or something?" chuckled Rogue. "Something like that." said Lorna. "With your powers? Wait a minute, what is your power?" said Kitty. It dawned on the others that Lorna never told them what her's is.

"Uhh…well." stuttered Lorna. This was not a conversation she ever wanted. That whole mess back at the Carnival was fresh in her mind and she didn't want her new friends to think of her in that light. She glanced around, trying to find some excuse to change the conversation.

Then she noticed a newspaper lying on the table next to them. Though she couldn't make out the words, it was the picture that got her attention. The picture of a man who looked familiar. She reached over and grabbed it. "What is it?" asked Kitty. Lorna ignored her as she starting the story.

She couldn't believe her eyes. It was him…him! The man who ruined her life. The man who took everything away from her and walked away from it without so much as a slap on the wrist. Martin Wallace, the man who killed Lorna's family. "It's him. It's him." Lorna muttered as anger grew inside her.

"Lorna, what's wrong?" asked Jean. The lights in the large room began to flicker as the chairs began to shake along with the tables (all metal of course), in fact everything metallic began to shake. The others were confused by the sudden chaos as Lorna finished reading the story.

In anger, Lorna ripped up the paper and stormed out. "Lorna, wait." Rogue said, running after her. "What was that all about?" wondered Kitty. "I don't know, let's find out." said Jean as she starting picking up the pieces of the newspaper. It wasn't long before they managed to put them back together.

"Here's something, all charges against Martin Wallace were dropped by the Boston District Attorney's office. Wallace was suspected of running over Benjamin Harmon while intoxicated. Harmon died en route to a hospital. The family is considering civil action." said Jean, reading off the article.

Outside, Lorna paced back and forth on the sidewalk. She was absolutely furious. A nearby stop sign went flying off it's hinges. Rogue finally managed to catch up to her. "There you are. What's wrong?" asked Rogue.

"He's going to get away with it again, just like he did last time." growled Lorna. All the nearby parked cars started up by themselves, their car alarms going off. "Who are you talking about? Lorna, talk to me." said Rogue. "His name is Martin Wallace and he killed my stepparents. He was never charged because he was rich and hired people who got him off. And now he's done it again." explained Lorna, who looked like she was about to explode.

Two nearby sewer manholes both exploded into the air and landed on the pavement. Rogue was in shock of this demonstration of Lorna's power. "He won't get away with it this time. I WON'T LET HIM!" yelled Lorna. She walked over to a nearby large dumpster.

After emptying it's contents, the dumpster began to compact itself into a round ball. When it was a complete sphere, a hole opened in the front. Lorna stepped inside. "Lorna, wait!" yelled Rogue. The hole closed behind her and the sphere took off flying into the air.

Jean and Kitty came running out just in time to see it fly out of sight. "What the heck was that?" said Kitty. "That was Lorna and we need to call the professor right now." said Rogue.

Rogue called Xavier who immediately went to Cerebro. He used the device to track her movements. After getting an idea on where she was going, he left the room to the X-Men who were all waiting outside.

"So, where's she going?" asked Logan. "Boston. I sensed a great amount of anger and rage inside of her. And from what Jean and Rogue have told us, her intentions are quite clear." said Xavier. They all knew exactly what she was going to do, kill Wallace.

"We need to leave now, Lorna will be in Boston shortly." said Xavier. "What about the Brotherhood?" asked Kitty. "You don't think they'd actually help us do you?" asked Scott. "Well, they might if they know that Lorna's in trouble." said Kitty.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the time. Everyone to the Blackbird now." ordered Xavier.

In a massive metallic dome, Magneto sat in front of a large monitor attached to a round device that gave off a distinctive energy blur.

The device was a type of mutant detector that Magneto invented as a means of surpassing Cerebro. This device enabled Magneto to detect mutants by the X-Gene itself instead of when a mutant used it's powers like Cerebro. This allowed Magneto to track and locate any mutant in the continental US in real-time.

And right know he was staring at a particular mutant. A massive mutant signature was moving towards Boston and it was powerful. It belonged to Lorna Dale, a mutant that lived in the Brotherhood. While most of them were all pathetic lowlifes, two of them had potential.

Pyro impressed Magneto with the recent power spike he had, though it was obvious that someone else's hand was in it. Still, Allerdyce's signature was enhanced even after his powers "burned" out which meant he was more powerful then before.

The other was Lorna. She was a mystery for a while until she used her powers during the Bayville Carnival. At first, Magneto couldn't believe it but somehow she could manipulate magnetism. It seemed impossible that another mutant was born with the same powers as him.

But that didn't matter at the moment, she was using her powers more then ever and Magneto was quite impressed. Lorna had great potential and it was time he made himself known. From behind, Sabertooth approached him.

"You called boss?" asked the feral mutant. "Yes, we're going to Boston." said Magneto who turned to face his acolyte. "What's there?" asked Sabertooth. "Our next recruit." smiled Magneto. "I'll get Clarice." replied Sabertooth.

On the X-Jet, the X-Men were all dressed up and ready to fight. "You're telling us she's has magnetism?" asked Summers. "Yeah, at least that's what we saw back in the mall." said Jean.

"You don't think her and Magneto are related do you?" asked Kurt. Xavier was troubled upon hearing this and remembered something from his past. "Could it be her?" wondered Charles.

"Did you say something Professor?" asked Storm. "Just thinking out loud." replied Xavier. "So I guess she was the one at the carnival and did the same thing at the soccer field." said Kitty.

"Man, she's barely my age and she's already rivaling magnet butt." said Daniels. "We're gonna need a plan for her Chuck." said Wolverine. "She isn't Magneto, she's just angry. We don't need to fight her but reason with her. Rogue, you know her better then anyone else here so I'll need your help." said Xavier.

Martin Wallace was driving back from work, thinking about how to delay the civil action as long as possible. Suddenly, his car jerked into the other lane. He tried to steer it but it was if the car had come alive and was controlling itself. Several cars swerved to avoid him.

It then suddenly turned in an alley and came to a drastic stop. Wallace bounced back and forth between his seatbelt and seat. He went to unbuckle his seat belt but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, the car to compact itself into a ball. Wallace braced himself as the seat and the steering wheel began to squeeze around him.

Then it stopped and a hole opened up in front of Wallace's face. The car levitated into the air. Wallace screamed.

The X-Men tracked Lorna to a scrap yard on the outskirts of Boston. "Figures she'd be someplace like this." grunted Wolverine, glancing at the piles of metallic debris all over. "Spread out and don't engage her. Remember, we're trying to be her friend." said Xavier.

Everyone spread out and started searching around. Wolverine came across a metallic dome made of rusty and dirty metallic debris. He also heard a man screaming inside. "I think I've found her." said Logan. Suddenly, someone tackled him from behind. The two twirled on the ground until Wolverine kicked him away. He finally saw his attacker, Sabertooth.

"Ha! I thought this was going to be a boring recruitment mission but I'm glad I was wrong." snarled Sabertooth. Wolverine's claws bursted out his hands. "Bring it on furball." growled Logan. The two charged at it each other when suddenly, an optic beam blasted Creed into a pile of debris. Summers and the other X-Men all gathered around Wolverine.

"Chuck, you and Rogue go after Lorna. We'll take care of fuzz ball here." said Wolverine. Rogue and Xavier moved off to the metal dome as the others surrounded Sabertooth.

"What are you doing here Creed?" growled Logan. Victor got to his feet, growling. "I think he wants more." said Summers who fired another blast. Suddenly, a red-skinned girl teleported in and grabbed Sabertooth. Before the blast could hit them, the two disappeared into a red mist.

"What the?" was pretty much everyone's response. They hear a bamf similar to Kurt's above them. They all looked up to a wrecked car coming crashing down on them. They all jumped out of the way as the car hit the ground.

Sabertooth and the girl appeared on a debris pile nearby. Wolverine leaped up to them but suddenly found himself being hurled backwards. Metallic debris from all over started floating into the air and trapping the X-Men. Summers and Jean were trapped together while Wolverine found that he just couldn't move. Spyke and Storm were soon trapped as well.

The only two still free were Kitty and Kurt who teleported and phased through every metal that flew at them.

Suddenly, water pipes deep below the earth were ripped to the surface underneath Kitty. She was hurled into the air and a metallic beam caught her and she was forced to hold on or fall hundreds of feet down.

Magneto floated into view beside Creed and Blink. He turns to the red-skinned mutant. "Deal with Nightcrawler." he said. She nodded and disappeared. She appeared in front of Kurt. "So a fellow teleporter eh?" she asked. "You can teleport?" said a stunned Kurt. (He's never seen another teleporter before.)

"You got it in one. It's a shame I have to do this, you are kinda cute." she said before sending out energy harpoons that teleported nearby junked cars. They all appeared right over Nightcrawler who teleported away before getting squashed.

He appeared behind Blink and grabbed her. She teleported along with him away. The two then engaged in a battle where both of them kept teleporting one after another as they held onto each other. They popped in and out all over the place.

Wolverine was able to move again as Sabertooth jumped down next to him. "He's all yours." said Magneto as he floated towards the metal dome. "Fun time." grinned Creed as he leaped forward and tackled Wolverine.

Inside the dome, Lorna stood over a helpless Wallace who was encased in a mesh of metal. "Please, I'll pay you whatever you want." begged Wallace. This only made Lorna even angrier. "You think you can just buy your way out of everything?!!" yelled Lorna.

The metal around Wallace began to squeeze him. "No wait, stop." he cried. "Lorna!" yelled a voice behind her, Rogue's. Polaris turned to see Rogue and Xavier approaching her, entering the dome through a hole used as an entrance. "What are you doing here?" demanded Lorna.

"Look Lorna, you don't want to do this." said Rogue. "Yes, I do. Don't you know I went through because of him?" glared Lorna. "Lorna, killing him won't bring back your stepparents." said Xavier.

"No, but it'll make me feel better." said Lorna. "No it won't. I've seen a good man take revenge on those who wronged him and instead of helping him, it destroyed him. He became bitter and angry afterwards, revenge doesn't take away any pain you feel." said Xavier.

(Hint: For those of you who don't already know it, he's referring to Magneto after his first daughter Anya was killed in a fire started by the village people where Eric lived. Afterwards, Magneto slaughtered the entire townspeople.)

Suddenly, Xavier's chair was pushed back into the wall. A metallic strip ripped off the wall, grabbed Rogue, and forced her up against the wall. Lorna gasped, she didn't do that. The roof of the dome ripped open as Magneto floated into it.

"Hello Lorna." said Eric. Lorna was stunned, sensing the intense magnetic fields being generated by his body. He had the same powers as her and from what Lorna sensed, he was more powerful as well.

"Magnus." said Xavier as Eric turned to face him. "Hello Charles. You didn't actually think I met my demise back on Asteroid M do you?" said Magneto. The armor-covered figure turned back to Lorna.

"Who are you?" asked Lorna. "I am Magneto and I understand exactly how you feel. Someone I deeply cared about was taken from me by humans. But I managed to avenge her death and kill those responsible. I assume that Charles here has told you that revenge accomplishes nothing. He is wrong, vengeance opened my eyes. After I took my revenge, my vision of the world was clear and I knew my true purpose in life. Kill him now and you will understand yours as well." said Magneto. "Lorna, don't listen to him!" yelled Rogue before a metallic strip wrapped around her mouth.

"Magnus, stop." demanded Xavier. "No Charles, you and your idealistic beliefs cannot deny the truth and the truth is that this girl needs revenge. It is the only sanity in this insane world." said Magneto.

"Killing those responsible for Anya's death changed nothing for you Eric." Xavier said. Anger boiled inside of Magneto at the mention of that name. Charles's wheelchair flipped over and dropped him to the ground. "How dare you speak her name!" yelled Eric. He turned back to Lorna. "Do it. Take your revenge." ordered Magneto.

Outside, Storm summoned a lightning bolt that knocked Sabertooth back. "Logan, get us out of here." said Storm, still wrapped in metal. Wolverine ran over and sliced Storm's restraints off. He then freed Jean and Scott as well. Storm flew up and carried Kitty down from the metal bar in the sky.

Blink finally got the upper hand on Kurt and toss him off her then delivered a spinning round house kick that sent the blue teleporter flying. Storm flew back into the air and fired a lightning bolt at Blink.

But the red mutant teleported before she was hit. She reappeared behind Storm and delivered a spinning kick to Storm's head before teleporting again. Storm fell to the ground and was caught by Cyclops.

Wolverine and Sabertooth started fighting again while Spyke was trying to shoot Blink with his spikes. He wasn't having much luck. "C'mon porcupine, hit me." laughed Blink as she kept teleporting away before getting hit. She then appeared behind him and teleported him away. They appeared up in the air. Evan screamed as he fell towards the ground while Blink teleported away. Jean used her telekinesis to gently set Evan down. She then sent a telekinetic blast that sent Blink flying into a junk pile.

Lorna was torn. As much as she wanted to kill this scumbag, the look on Rogue's pleading eyes made her hesitate. She just wanted closure and justice for her stepparents. But was Rogue and Xavier right? Would killing them accomplish nothing?

Or was Magneto right and that it bring clarity and focus to one? Lorna just didn't know what the truth was. "Why do you hesitate? Kill him now." said Magneto. "No, don't do it Lorna." said Xavier before metal strips wrapped around his mouth.

"Do it now Lorna and take your place at my side. Do you wish to continue a meaningless life? I can give you purpose, make you a true soldier in the war that is to come." said Magneto.

Lorna knew war was inevitable but it sounded like this Magneto guy wanted it to happen. Who would ever want a war? Just because she believed that war was coming, didn't mean she wanted it to happen. And what about Xavier and his students? They were preparing to stop that war from ever happening.

All these thoughts ran through Lorna's head but she did come up with one decision. She turned to Wallace and held up her hand. The trapped man slide over to her so she could stare at him face to face.

"Do you remember that boy you killed?" she growled. Wallace nodded, not daring to say a word. "You're going to pay for his funeral. Then, you're going to pay whatever his family sues you for. You won't clog this up in the courts, you will pay to them or you will pay to me." said Lorna. The metal squeezed just a little tighter.

"Do you understand?" said Lorna, now inches away from his face. "Yes, yes. I'll do whatever you want." whimpered Wallace. "What are doing? Kill him now." demanded Magneto.

"No, I won't kill him." Lorna said to Magnus before turning back to Wallace. "If you ever kill or harm anyone again because of you drive while drunk, I will kill you." glared Lorna.

The metal around Wallace loosened, enabling him to get free. "I'll be watching you." warned Lorna. Wallace nodded his head in fear and ran off. "No! What are you doing?" yelled Magneto.

"I did what I thought was right and I've made my decision." said Lorna. "So be it, and my offer?" asked Magneto. "No, I may believe that a war between humans and mutants will come but I would rather fight to prevent it then participate in it." said Lorna.

Suddenly, a metal strip came up from behind her and wrapped around her. She struggled as Magneto sighed. "It is a shame that I could not gain your cooperation voluntarily. So now it will be by force." said Magneto. Lorna used all her might and the metal bar around her opened up. Magneto was surprised by her power long enough for Lorna to free Rogue.

While Magneto sent metallic debris to wrap around Lorna, Rogue ran up to him and grabbed him on the neck. He screamed as Rogue started draining him but he managed to shove her off. Lorna and Rogue stood side by side together. The two looked at each other.

"You ready?" asked Lorna. Rogue nodded as her eyes glowed yellow. The two of them sent a powerful magnetic blast at Magneto. He was sent flying out through the hole in the top of the dome.

Outside, Magneto landed on a pile of metallic debris. He struggled to his feet. Blink and Sabertooth teleported beside him. "Time to leave." said Magneto. Blink touched him and Creed and they all teleported away.

The X-Men all assembled outside the dome as Rogue, Xavier, and Lorna all exited. Lorna's blond hair had changed into a lime green color. "You made the right decision Lorna." said Xavier. "Not if he goes and hurts someone again." said Lorna.

"Then Wallace will face the consequences of those actions." said Xavier. Rogue glanced at Lorna's hair. "What's with the dye job?" she asked. "Oh this? My hair changed into this color when I was twelve. I kept dying it but it would always change back, especially when I used my powers extensively." replied Lorna.

She turned back to Xavier. "So, what happens now?" asked Lorna. "That is up to you Lorna." said Xavier. Lorna thought for a moment before speaking. "I do believe that a war is coming between mutants and humans but I want to believe it can be averted and I want to do whatever I can to stop it. That's why I want to join the X-Men." said Lorna.

This statement shocked the X-Men. Xavier smiled and held out his hand which Lorna shook. "Welcome to the X-Men Lorna." he told her. She glanced around at the others who were smiling as well. "Please, call me Polaris." Lorna said.

(Yes, Polaris is now with the X-Men and boy do I have things planned for her. Next chapter, Spyke and Quicksilver are kidnapped by Xavier's old nemesis Shadow King and Xavier calls up an old friend to help him save the day.)


	10. Vengeance

(Another update has arrived. I try to make each chapter now like an episode, with a beginning and end. Please let me know what you think of it and suggestions are always welcome.)

"SHE WHAT?!!!" yelled Pietro. He had just got back with Lance and the others to the Boarding house when Toad broke the bad news to them. "Like I told ya before, Lorna came home, packed all her things, and said she was joining the X-Geeks." said Toad.

Everyone moaned. "Oh man, how come this keeps happening? Magneto, Mystique, and now Lorna. Why does everyone keep dumping us?!" yelled Fred. "I always knew she was an X-Geek at heart." said Kine.

"But she helped Pietro with those robberies." said Lance. "One good act wasn't going to change her. She was gonna join them sooner or later and we all knew it." said Terrence.

"So what now?" asked John. "Forget her. She wants to waste her time with those losers, I say let her. She'll only be torturing herself." said Pietro. Then something dawned on Pietro.

"And speaking of torture." Pietro said before zooming off. "Hey, where's he going?" asked Toad. "Who knows? Hopefully someplace where he won't come back anytime soon." said John.

Daniels was riding his skateboard down the sidewalk when suddenly a blur passed by him and shoved him. He fell flat to the ground. Evan looked up to see Pietro standing over him.

"I forgot to give you your wedgie in PE class today. So I figured, I'd just take your board." said Pietro before grabbing Evan's skateboard. "Hey, give me that." warned Daniels who grew spikes on his arms.

"Come and get it pointy." laughed Pietro and dashed over to a nearby valley. Daniels ran after him. "Give that back Pietro!" yelled Evan. He didn't notice a boy approaching them both. He had the physical appearance of a Native American.

The boy walked up to both Pietro and Daniels who were both tugging on either end of the skateboard. "Evan Daniels?" asked the boy. Daniels let go from the distraction, causing Pietro to fall on his back. "Huh, do I know you?" asked Daniels.

"Are you Evan Daniels?" the boy asked again. Pietro zoomed right in front of Evan. "Yeah, that's the loser behind me. What happened, he turn your car into a pincushion?" asked Pietro. Daniels turned Pietro around. "Shut up Maximoff!" yelled Evan. "Make me." dared Pietro.

"You'll both suffice." the boy said with a sinister grin. He held up his hand and a circular portal appeared in front of him. The portal began to suck both Spyke and Quicksilver. Pietro tried to run but found himself still getting closer to the event horizon. Spyke had the same result when he was shot spikes into the ground for him to hold onto to.

Sure enough, the two were pulled into the vortex which closed afterwards. The boy then opened his own portal and stepped through.

Both Pietro and Daniels fell face down onto the floor. The two of them got to their feet and glanced around to find themselves literally in darkness. "Where are we?" asked Daniels. "You tell me, Chief Wahoo back there was obviously gunning for you." said Pietro.

"I've never seen that guy before in my life." said Evan. "Whatever, I'm getting out of here." said Pietro who zoomed off one direction and appeared from the other side of Daniels.

"Huh? How'd I get back here?" Pietro asked out loud. He ran the same direction he came and found himself on the other side of Daniels. "Dude, this is getting freaky man." said Daniels.

"Ah, you've arrived." said a low ominous voice. The two mutants glanced around but couldn't see anyone. "Who's there?" demanded Pietro. "Welcome to my prison. It's been so long since I've had any visitors." said the voice.

A figure appeared in front of them, a black demonic creature. "AHHHH!" yelled Pietro who tried to run but it was like he was running on a treadmill as he wasn't moving.

"You are in my world now and I have great plans for you." said the creature. "What are you?" said a terrified Daniels. "Very soon, you will call me master but for now you may call me Shadow King." laughed the demonic entity.

Lorna just finished up packing all her things and was on her way to the dinning room to join the others for dinner when she was approached by Storm. "Lorna, I was wondering if you saw my nephew." said Storm, somewhat worried. "Evan? No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him all day." replied Lorna.

Storm sighed. "Is everything alright?" asked Lorna. "No, he's not in the mansion grounds and no one has seen him for the past several hours." said Storm. "Does he usually do this?" asked Lorna. "Sometimes he'll go out for several hours at a time but he never misses dinner with us. This isn't like him." said Storm.

Kurt teleported right beside them, wearing a chef's hat. "Bojour ladies. Come to the dinning room and enjoy some of my fine feast foule'." he spoke in a fake French accent. He seemed to be enjoying cooking duties real well.

"In a minute Kurt, I need to see the professor first." said Storm then walked off. Nightcrawler turned back to Lorna. "Get it while it's hot." said Kurt before teleporting away.

Storm met up with Charles and explained Daniel's absence to her. "Don't worry Ororo, I'll see if I can connect to him." said Xavier. He reached out telepathically to Spyke but for some reason, couldn't sense his presence. He stretched his mind outwards, searching through the entire city.

Suddenly, a portal behind Storm and a boy came leaping out. He kicked Storm in the back of the head, dropping her. "Hello Xavier." the boy smiled evilly. "What is the meaning of this?" demanded Xavier, preparing to send a psychic blast.

"Charles, you offend me. You don't remember the one telepath whose mind you couldn't read?" mocked the boy. Xavier reached out and found an incredibly powerful mental shield around the boy. It would take all his effort just to get through it.

"Don't bother trying to get through Charles. I'll be long gone before you do." said the boy. "Who are you?" demanded Charles. Storm got back to her feet and was charging up for a lightning bolt. "Do that Ororo and you'll never find your precious nephew." warned the boy.

Storm stopped after his last statement. "You have grown much since I took you into my care. I can only imagine what we could have accomplished together Windrider." said the boy. Storm and Xavier's eyes went wide, realizing who the intruder was.

"It can't be." gasped Storm. "Farouk." said Xavier. "Yes, the one you tried to kill back in Cairo but as you can see, you failed." laughed the intruder, his eyes turning dark black. The boy was nothing but a host, Farouk was now a being of pure psychic energy.

"What have you done to Evan?!" yelled Storm. Wolverine bursted into the room and knocked Farouk to the ground. He put his claws right up to the boy's neck. But Farouk only laughed.

"Go ahead, kill this body. You would only be killing the poor innocent wretch whom I have taken to be my vessel." laughed Farouk. Wolverine growled but removed the claws after Xavier sent him a message to do so.

"What do you want Farouk?" demanded Xavier. "Farouk is no more. I am Shadow King and I have come bearing a message." said the boy before sending a metal image into Xavier's brain of both Evan and Pietro screaming in pain.

"If you wish to see the brats again, you will face me in the astral plane once more. Make your decision quickly Charles, I don't know how much longer they'll last." laughed Shadow King. A portal opened up behind him and he leaped through it. It closed before Logan could stop him.

The rest of the X-Men all waited in the study as Xavier, Storm, Beast, and Logan were all talking in the professor's office. The kids didn't know what was going on other then an intruder came and gave them a message.

"What do ya thinks going on in there?" asked Rogue. "I don't know but the professor sounded pretty worried." said Jean. "You think it's Evan?" asked Lorna. "I don't know." said Jean.

Finally, Xavier and the other two stepped out of the office. "What's going on professor?" asked Summers. "It's Evan, he's been kidnapped." said Xavier. That caught everyone's attention. "What? By whom?" asked Kurt.

"His name is Amahl Farouk, a very powerful telepath who calls himself Shadow King. He lived in Cairo about twenty years ago where he forced Ororo to steal for him." said Xavier. "That was not a pleasant part of my life." said Monroe.

Xavier continued. "When I met him, he wanted me to join him. He had a dream of conquering the world and making all of humanity bow before his feet. I refused and he attacked me. The two of us fought with our minds until our consciousnesses were battling on the astral plane. I managed to gain the upper hand and banish him there forever. At least, I thought he was but clearly I was wrong. It appears he has found a mutant to help him escape from the astral plane and that is where he is holding both Evan and Pietro." said Xavier.

"Wait a minute, Pietro? Why does he have him?" asked Lorna. "I don't know. But Shadow King is a sadist and he showed me memories of him torturing both of them." said Xavier. "Then we need to get 'em out of there." said Kitty.

"It's not that simple. Their physical bodies are trapped in the astral plane and the only way to free them is that boy Farouk possessed. His mutant powers are what took Evan and Pietro away and is the only way we can bring them back." said Xavier.

"And let me guess, the kid in the astral plane." said Bobby. "Yes, Shadow King wants to force me to face him there once more." said Xavier. Wolverine growled, "I don't need to be a telepath to know this is a trap Chuck." he said.

"I know, which is why I called some help." said Xavier. Wolverine frowned. Charles turned to Jean. "Jean, I won't force you to go but I will need as much help as possible in fighting him. Only telepaths can enter the astral plane." said Xavier.

"You can count on me Professor." said Jean. "Wait a minute, that's it? You're only taking Jean with you against this guy?" said a worried Summers. "No. I have someone else coming to help. Speaking of which…" said Xavier just as the doorbell rang.

Everyone followed Xavier to the front of the mansion where a woman was standing outside. She was dressed an exotic white dress and had long golden hair. All the guys were instantly stunned from her appearance, except Wolverine who recognized her immediately.

"Thank you for coming so quickly." Xavier said as the woman entered. "You know me Charles, I'm always dependable." said the visitor. Charles turned to everyone else to introduce their guest. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Emma Frost." he said.

Wolverine was anything but happy about this. The reason why being that Emma had her own school for mutants, only she taught her students that mutants were superior to humans unlike Charles who taught equality.

Still, Emma was willing to help Charles get Daniels and Pietro back at the risk of her own life. And since she was one of the most powerful telepaths in the world, she would be extremely helpful in fighting Shadow King.

The three of them entered Cerebro, planning on using the device to allow them to enter the astral plane without too much effort. They were going to need their strength for the coming battle. "Everyone ready?" asked Xavier as he put on his helmet.

"As ready as we'll ever be." said Frost who was lying down along with Jean since they were about to leave their bodies and didn't want to fall down. Xavier was going to mentally pull out their consciousnesses using Cerebro's mental enhancement abilities. "This will feel a little weird." said Charles.

He tugged at his colleagues' psyche, causing them to leave their bodies. Their bodies slumped as their astral projections floated into the air. Soon Xavier joined them and a portal opened up in front of them, created by Charles.

They passed into a landscape covered in volcanic ash and molten rock. Streams of lava flowed down in crevices like rivers and the ground was covered in ash. Not a single plant was visible in sight.

"Shadow King should fire whoever his land decorator is." said Emma, knowing how to keep her sense of humor even in situations like these. Xavier, walking on his own two feet, walks forward. "They're this way." he said. The other two followed him over a hill and saw a massive menacing looking stone castle.

"Something tells me that's where we're supposed to go." said Jean. "First bad landscaping and now terrible construction work. Shadow King should really know how to hire better help." said Emma.

The three made their way to the castle. Standing in front of it were black demonic-shaped creatures hissing and flapping their wings. Xavier was going to use his telepathy to keep them at bay but found that wasn't necessary as the creatures moved aside for them.

"Hmm, it appears that Shadow King doesn't want us to be distracted." said Xavier. "But is that a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Jean as they continued walking through the hordes of creatures. The entities continued to growl and hiss at them but nothing more.

Inside the castle, the three telepaths made their way into a massive throne room. Sitting at the end was Shadow King, fifty feet tall, on his throne chair. The center of the room was like a coliseum from Rome, with rows of benches filled with demonic hordes all flapping their wings excitedly.

"Welcome Charles. For twenty years, I've been waiting for this day. Now I want to savor the moment." said Shadow King. "Where are they?" demanded Xavier.

"Ah yes, the brats. Come out boys." chuckled Shadow King. Pietro and Daniels stepped out of the shadows, dressed in dark exotic looking armor. "We serve the master." said Daniels. "All hail Shadow King." said Pietro.

"What have you done to them?" yelled Jean. Shadow King laughed at her anger, amused. "I played around inside their minds. So pathetic, so easy to manipulate. But enough of this exchange." said Shadow King before rising to his feet.

"You two dispose of Xavier's pets, no one is touch Charles. I want to kill him nice and slowly myself." glared Shadow King. Pietro dashed forward holding a black axe. Emma turned into her diamond form just as Pietro slammed the sharp end into her. The axe bounced off Emma but Pietro continued swinging it.

Spikes emerged from Daniel's body which he fired at Jean. She used her telekinesis to protect herself but Evan was in overdrive with his spikes, continuously firing more and more. Shadow King leaped forward and landed right in front of Charles. He tried to step on the Professor but Xavier held up Shadow King's foot as if he were Juggernaut. Charles shoves the foot forward which causes Farouk to fall over. But Shadow King begins to shrink and lands in a back flip on his feet.

"Impressive Charles, but you must know that you've lost." laughed Shadow King. Dozens of Shadow King-like mimics formed around the original and swords and shields appeared in their hands. Using his own manipulation of the astral plane, Xavier summoned his own set of gladiators, which looked just the X-Men.

"Time to say goodnight bub." said the Wolverine mimic, it's claws emerging. The two sides clashed while Xavier and the real Shadow King fighting each other with their own weapons. Xavier used a broadsword while Shadow King used a battle axe.

Emma continued to maintain her diamond form as Pietro started hitting her with super speed. She couldn't maintain her shield forever and reached out into Pietro's mind. It was fragmented, torn to shreds by Shadow King but if she could put it back together, he might stop.

Daniels continued to fire his spikes, getting exhausted. His body could only fire so much at a time and was growing weaker. "Evan, you have to stop. If you don't, your body will be too exhausted to even breath." said Jean, trying to reach Evan but he continued to fire despite his exhaustion.

Shadow King shoved Xavier into the wall. Charles struggled to get to his feet, only to jump out of the way as Farouk's axe nearly took off his head. "You're weakening Xavier, it happens to all telepaths in the astral plane when they're put under too much stress. But this is my home now and I no longer have such weaknesses." said Shadow King.

His axe formed into a ball and chain which he hurled around and sent the end flying into Xavier. Charles was sent flying onto the throne. All the creatures in the audience cheered their approval. "You're no match for me Xavier, not in this place." taunted Shadow King.

"Doesn't he ever shut up?" growled Emma, trying to concentrate on Pietro's mind. She was having difficulty piercing his mind back together while avoiding his attacks. But they were getting easier as Pietro was getting exhausted, putting too much effort into trying to swing the axe.

Finally, she pierced the last fragment together and Pietro screamed. He then glanced around, confused. "What the…Where am I?" said a confused Pietro. The audience screamed their disapproval at this.

Emma then concentrated fully on Daniel's mind and got it back into one piece. Daniels shook his head and glanced around, confused like Pietro. "Wow, freaky man." he said.

Shadow King growled at this. "The game is over for all of you. Kill them!" yelled Farouk. The creatures in the audience leaped to the floor and charged. Emma and Jean used their telepathy to hold the creatures back.

Meanwhile, Shadow King and Xavier were continuing their fight and it was clear that the demonic entity was winning. Another block and a backhand sent Charles flying back. "This is my world Charles and you cannot beat me here." laughed Shadow King.

"You're right, I cannot beat you but he can." said Xavier. Farouk frowned and turned to see the boy he used as his host. Shadow King laughed at this. "He can't do anything. He is a slave to my will." chuckled Farouk.

"Not anymore." smiled Xavier, who had reconstructed the boy's mind while combating Shadow King. It was difficult but he managed to pull it off. The boy screamed and summoned a portal right in front of Shadow King.

The demonic entity screamed and tried to get away from the singularity but the force of the portal sucked him closer and closer. "Farewell Farouk, and stay gone this time." said Xavier. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Shadow King as he disappeared into the portal. It closed soon afterwards.

The castle, creatures, and lava filled landscape all disappeared. "With Shadow King gone, all of his manipulations of the astral plane are gone as well." said Xavier. "That was a close one Professor." said Jean.

"Close or not, job well done all of you." said Xavier. "So where did Shadow ugly go?" asked Daniels. "Why don't we ask him?" said Xavier, turning to the boy he found out was called Gateway.

"I sent him to a dimension between the astral plane and the real world. Where nothing exists but him." said Gateway. "Ha, sucks to be him." laughed Pietro. "And I hope he stays there for good. Well, I don't know about all of you but I would like to get back home." said Emma.

Xavier turned to Gateway. "Would you please drop these two off at the Institute?" asked Charles. "Yes, but I will not stay. I must return to my home." said the boy. "Well should you ever feel the need, the doors at the Institute are always open." said Charles.

"I don't need a door." chuckled Gateway who formed a portal. On the other side, they could see the living room where the X-Men were all sitting. "Hey, they're back." said Summers.

"I'm outta here." said Pietro who dashed through the portal and out of the mansion. Daniels followed as well. Once he stepped through, the portal closed behind him. Gateway then opened one for himself and stepped through. "Alright, time to go." said Xavier who opened a rift for the telepath's consciousnesses to return to their bodies.

"Thank you again Emma." said Xavier who was escorting the young telepath on her way out. "It was my pleasure Charles. Just because we may disagree on certain things, don't think I won't hesitate to help." said Frost. When she left, Xavier heard some yelling.

"Wait a minute, where's my board? Maximoff! I'm gonna kill you!" yelled Daniels. "Well, at least things are back to normal around here." chuckled Charles.

"And then Xavier summoned like the entire X-Men to fight the dozens of duplicates. Meanwhile, the hot blond managed to free me out of my daze along with Daniels. The demons in the audience then attacked us." said Pietro, telling the rest of the Brotherhood what happened.

They all threw disbelieving looks. "Hey, this really happened!" yelled Pietro. "And let me guess, you made out with the hot blond." chuckled Alvers. "No, I wish I did but I didn't. I didn't even try to hit on her, I just wanted to get out of there." said Pietro.

"That's it, no more caffeine drinks for you." said Fred who walked away. "Scary demons, hot blonds, yeah right." chuckled Kine as he and Terrance walked off. "It's the truth I swear!" yelled Pietro. John laughed and walked off, with Toad right behind him. "Guys, please. I'm not making this one up." he continued to plead.

(Poor little Pietro. Ah well. Now instead of telling you what's going to happen in the next chapter, I have a special guest to do that. Take it away Summers.)

SUMMERS: Finally, I get some respect from you. It's bad enough you called your fic the Brotherhood but also all the stories are mostly about them.

HARDBOILED: Just read the preview already.

SUMMERS: Alright. (opens an envelope and reads the preview) WHAT?! This is the dumbest idea ever!

TOAD: What's it about? (reads the preview for himself). Oh this is awesome, I can't wait for this chapter. The Silver Samurai kidnaps the X-Men and now their only hope is the Brotherhood.

ALL X-MEN: WHAT?!!!!!!

PIETRO: What do you people expect? You're just supporting characters. We're the real stars, just read the title of this fic.

SUMMERS: Get 'em!

(The Brotherhood and the X-Men start fighting.)

HARDBOILED: (sighing) Maybe I should go back to doing the previews myself?


	11. Since when are we the heroes?

(I came up with this episode after watching the new Wolverine cartoon with Silver Samurai. It wasn't the best episode ever but I thought to myself wouldn't be interesting if the Brotherhood had to save the X-Men? Also there is graphic torture in this chapter. Trust me, the Geneva Convention would blow it's top off if they read this. I'm kidding of course but you need to read it for yourself. Please review.)

A week goes by and Wolverine heads back to the Institute from his little road trip. He didn't actually have any planned destination whenever he goes on one, he just goes wherever he goes. It helps to clear his head after dealing with all the kids back at home.

When he arrived at the entrance, he could see Lance's jeep outside. Most likely Lance taking Kitty on another movie night. Well whatever, what those two did was no business of his.

He stepped inside and realized something was wrong. It was quiet, which was something of an impossibility in this mansion. He sniffed the air and caught the scents of the usual houseguest along with the past scents of Lance and John, but he also caught a group of newcomers.

He entered the kitchen to find it trashed. Some holes in the wall, no doubt made by Summers but his scent left along with the newcomers. Obviously the mansion was attacked and Scott was taken. Logan ran throughout the building, no one here. They were all taken as well.

He made one last stop into the living room and found Lance Alvers lying on the ground, unconscious. Logan quickly grabbed a flower vase filled with water and splashed it on Alver's face.

Lance screamed as his eyes jolted awake. "Huh? What the…?" said Lance, who seemed more confused then Logan. "What happened? Where are the others?" demanded Wolverine. "I don't know, I got here to drop off Kitty. I followed her to the door and then there was some ninja who threw dust at us. That's the last thing I remember I swear." said Lance, startled to have Wolverine in his face.

Ninjas? Could it be the Hand? No, they were through with him. If they wanted him dead, they would have tried a long time ago. Then he caught a familiar smell in the room. Logan couldn't believe his nose, it couldn't be him. He let go of Lance.

"What's going on?" said Lance. "Get out of here." said Logan before heading to the door. "No way, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." said Lance. Wolverine growled at him. "Every one of the students along with Storm, Beast, and Charles have all been kidnapped." said Logan. Alvers was stunned. "What? By who?" he asked. "Silver Samurai." grunted Logan as he walked out.

* * *

Lance busted into the Boarding House. "Guys! We've got trouble!" he yelled out. Everyone came running into the foyer. "What's wrong yo?" asked Toad. "Someone's kidnapped the X-Men, they're all gone except Wolverine." said Lance.

Everyone was silent for a moment then all the Brotherhood (except John) all started shouting for joy. "They're gone. They're finally gone!" cheered Pietro. "No more lectures, no more punks, no more red heads and dirty looks." sang Chris.

"What about Amara?!!" yelled John. "She's gone too. In case you weren't listening, he said everyone except Wolverine." said Toad. "NOOOOOO! We've got to get 'er back." cried John.

"Why?" said Kine, as if it was a trick question. "Good point, what did those goody goody punks ever do for us?" said Fred. The whole house began to shake violently as Lance yelled, "WE'RE GETTING KITTY, AMARA, AND EVERYONE ELSE BACK GOT IT?!"

Everyone was too afraid to say no and they all quickly nodded their heads. "Uhh, newsflash Lance. How exactly are we going to find them?" said Terrance. Lance was speechless, he was so intent on getting the rest of the Brotherhood to help out that he didn't know what else to do.

"Well, we can't follow Wolverine considering you're here and he's not." pointed Pietro. "Wolverine told me that the guy behind this was named Silver Samurai." said Lance.

"Wait a minute, I know him." said Kine. "You know that guy?" asked a stunned Lance. "Well not personally but I know him by reputation. You see, I'm real big into organized crime organizations and I try to keep up with what's going on in each one. Silver Samurai is a guy by the name of Harada and he's one of the Yakuza's top man." said Kine.

"What's a Yakuza?" asked a confused Fred. "Japanese Mafia my friend, it turns out that they were recently investigated by the FBI for smuggling by using a dummy corporation that owned several warehouses down in the New York Harbor." said Kine. "Can you get the addresses?" asked John. "Of course, just let me work my magic." said Kine.

* * *

Kine found the address, a series of empty warehouses. "What is it with villains and abandoned warehouses yo?" asked Toad as they investigated the buildings. "Privacy away from peering eyes, you don't have to pay mortgage off, stuff like that." answered Pietro.

"If they've touched a hair on Amara's head, I'm gonna fry them Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle wannabes so hot their ashes will disinigrate." growled John. "And I'm not gonna rock anyone who touches Kitty, I'm just gonna kill 'em." growled Lance.

They checked out all the warehouses and couldn't find anything. But one warehouse did have a bunch of new boxes and a guard of Japanese descent. The man suddenly found himself paralyzed as the Brotherhood approached him.

"What the..?" he yelled out, trying to move. "Where's Harada?" demanded Lance. "I don't know what you're talking about? I'm just a security guard." said the man. "And you're inside an abandoned warehouse? Nice try." said Pietro.

"I won't tell you freaks anything." growled the man. Fire emerged on John's hands. "Let me have a few minutes alone with him." said Pyro. "No, I've got a better idea. Fred, sit on him." said Lance.

"Okay." said Fred, who sat on top of him but not completely. "AHHHHH!" screamed the guard. Then Fred farted, right in the guy's face. The guard turned his head and vomited.

"Oh man, that was just wrong and this is me talking." said Toad. "I'm gonna have nightmares for the rest of my life." said Chris. "Excuse me." said Pietro who ran to a bucket and puked himself. "Start talking or I start unloading." said Fred. "OKAY! OKAY! I'll talk." yelled the guard.

* * *

Wolverine followed the scent trail on his motorcycle. Eventually it was just down to one scent, Harada's. He wanted Logan to follow him and get the death match he's been wanting all along.

Well, Logan wasn't going to disappoint him. He followed the trail to an open field where standing in the middle of it was man dressed in metallic armor. The Silver Samurai. He wore ancient samurai armor and wielded a long katana.

"I've been looking forward to this day Guijin. When you defeated me all those years ago, I waited for the right moment to strike. Now that the Yakuza is mine, I used their best men to capture your friends." said Harada.

"Let them go, they've got nothing to do with this." growled Wolverine. "I will, but only if you kill me. If you run away, they die. If you lose, they die. Now let's finish this." said Harada, drawing his sword. Logan's claws popped out of his hands and the two warriors clashed.

* * *

The guard told them the Yakuza had just purchased a building in the nearby warehouse district. The building was going to be heavily guarded, with some of the best Yakuza fighters there.

When they arrived at the set of warehouses, the Brotherhood didn't see or hear anyone. "You realize that the same people who grabbed the X-Men are probably hiding somewhere out there right now. Just waiting for the right moment to attack us." said Fred.

Pietro and Chris whispered to each other for a moment. "Don't worry. The two of us have got just the thing." said Chris. Pietro zoomed off and popped back holding a sledgehammer. "It's time to play Whack a Ninja." said Pietro.

Terrance sent out psychic static all over the set of warehouses. Every one of the ninjas who were hiding outside screamed in pain.

Pietro zoomed over to each and every one of them and smashed them in the back of the head. Kine also sent out neural commands all along the rooftops, which cause several ninjas to run off the top of the buildings and land on the pavement.

"That had to hurt." commented Toad. It didn't take the team long to finish off the rest of the ninjas and move towards the warehouse.

* * *

Wolverine and Silver Samurai continued their battle. Both were highly skilled and the battle was fierce. Neither one of them relented for even a second. Though Harada didn't have the multiple blades like Wolverine, his energy-charged sword more then made up for that.

But in the end, Logan managed to knock Harada's sword out of his hands and take him to the ground. "Kill me." grunted Harada in defeat. "Where are my friends?" demanded Logan. "I said kill me!" yelled Harada. "I don't care about you and your stupid honor, call your goons and tell them to let my friends go." said Logan.

Shamefully, Harada said, "Very well." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Kill them." Harada said, an evil smile forming. "NOOO!" yelled Logan. "Go ahead and listen to your friend's deaths." said Harada.

* * *

"Understood." said the Yakuza goon on the other end. He and three others were guarding the X-Men were all unconscious and lying on the floor. The four criminals pulled out their guns and prepared to shoot the helpless X-Men when suddenly the door busted open.

They turned their guns all at the entering Brotherhood until Kine sent a neural command that forced all of them to point their guns at their own heads. They all screamed in confusion and terror.

"They're okay." said Lance as he checked on Kitty. John checked on Amara. Pietro started quibbling circles around Daniel's eyes and gave him a mustache and a goatee. Toad picked up the cell phone.

* * *

"Sorry yo, but we can't let you kill of the X-Geeks. Who else are we going to make miserable?" came Toad's voice over the cell phone. Logan was stunned just as much as Harada. He picked it up.

"Toad? Is that you?" asked Logan. "Yep, we just saved the day. The Brotherhood just saved the geek squad. I know, I can't believe it myself." said Toad. Logan turned around to find Harada gone, vanished. No doubt he was heading out of town.

* * *

The X-Men all started to come around. "What just happened?" said Scott. "We were attacked by ninjas, that is just messed up." said Bobby. The X-Men all glanced around to the Brotherhood members gathering up the last of the unconscious ninjas and placing them in pile.

"What a minute? Does this mean that they…" said Jean. "No…no…" said Scott in denial. "They actually…" said a stunned Kurt. "Please let this be a nightmare." moaned Evan.

"The Brotherhood just saved your collective goody goody butts." said Toad, proudly. "That's right. Today, we're the heroes and you're all the damsels in distress." said Fred.

The X-Men were just stunned. "This is certainly a surprise." said Storm. "I think we owe you our thanks." said Xavier. "And we'll start with you." said Kitty to Lance before she kissed him. "You're next." said Amara before kissing John.

Pietro turned to Jean. "Aren't you going to give me a kiss?" he said, his lips puckering. She tried to hit him but he dashed out of the way laughing. Daniels wiped his face and noticed black ink on his hand. He glanced in a mirror and screamed, "Who did this?"

Pietro laughed. "So on a scale of one to one point five, just how would you rate your Maximoff makeover?" chucked Pietro. Evan chased after Quicksilver who zoomed off laughing.

(See, I told you it contained graphic torture. Fred unloading would make water boarding seem like a vacation. Next chapter is a personal favorite of mine, Joyride. That's right, Lance joins the X-Men but he's not going alone. Our favorite Australian fire hazard will be joining him.)


	12. Joyride

(Howdy folks, time for my take on Joyride. This chapter won't be action-packed but then again that episode of X-Men Evolution wasn't really meant for any action. The episode was probably one of my favorite episodes and I hope you my take on it.)

After awhile, school was about to start again along with the school dance but that wasn't what made the Brotherhood depressed, it's the fact that they were sitting around completely bored. They had no idea what to do.

"I'm bored." said Pietro. "Shut up Pietro, that's the seventh time you've said that!" yelled Alvers. "Well, I need to fix this problem immediately." said Pietro.

"I can't believe this. We've got millions of dollars left from those robberies of yours, a big screen TV, every gaming console known to man along with enough games to fill a library and I'm bored out of my mind." moaned Alvers.

"Well, what do you suggest fearless leader?" snickered Pietro. "I don't know…maybe join the X-Men." said Lance. "WHAT?!!!!" yelled everyone in the house. Soon, everyone was in the living room surrounding Lance.

"Have you lost your mind?!" everyone yelled at once. "Hey, at least things happen there unlike here." groaned Lance. "Lance, these are the X-Dorks we're talking about here." said Kine.

"Somebody take his temperature." said Toad. Pietro zoomed off and came back with a thermometer. He shoved it into Lance's mouth when Alvers was about to say something. "Wait a minute, you're doing it all wrong. You're supposed to put it under the armpits." said John. "Nah, you're supposed to shove it up the rectum." said Fred.

Everyone all looked at Fred absolutely speechless. "Well, that's how my old doctor always used to do it." he said, shrugging. "It's official, I'm never going to a hospital again." moaned Pietro.

Lance spit out the thermometer and got to his feet. "I'm serious guys. If Magneto or Mystique were coming back, they would have done it already. We've been dumped, the Brotherhood is finished." he said.

"Say what!" yelled Chris. "Everyone relax, I know what's going on with Lance. It's a serious medical condition called Kittyidis." sneered Pietro. "Oh no. Don't tell me you want to do this just for that X-Geek." said Fred.

"She ain't worth it man. Trust me, you think they'll actually accept you over there? They'll never trust you ever." said Chris. "Oh, forget this." said Lance who headed towards his room. The rest of them all glanced at John. "Pyro don't just stand there, talk to him yo. I mean, you're also dating one of the Geek Squad." said Toad

"Sorry mate but he is unfortunately mad in love and when you're like that, well, you don't think straight." said John. "Sounds like you've got personal experience." said Toad. "Nah, just the sense I get from watching all those chick flicks with Amara." replied John.

Later that night, Alvers had finished packing up his things and was about to sneak out of the house when he found John waiting there for him. "Going for a midnight stroll?" asked John. "Don't start with me John, I've made up my mind." moaned Lance, hoping he could've avoided seeing anyone on his way out. Then John did something unexpected, he grabbed his own things that were sitting on the couch.

"I'm coming with ya." said John. "What?" said a shocked Alvers. "What can I say? I'm madly in love too." said John. "Oh, why not? At least I won't be going there by myself." mumbled Lance.

* * *

"THEY WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Pietro after seeing the note Lance left them. "I thought John was supposed to talk Lance out of going, not join him!" yelled Pietro.

"What is this? Dump the Brotherhood year?" moaned Toad. Chris and Kine walked by and smelled one of Toad's flavored stenches. "With the way he smells, can't really blame 'em." mumbled Kine.

* * *

At a training session with the rest of the new mutants, Lance and John watched the trainees target practice. Amara missed a few of them as did Jubilee. Bobby snickered at John, "Watch and learn how the professionals do it." he said. John didn't really like the guy, Icecube always thought he was the best thing in town.

Bobby hit every target and started showing off. He didn't notice several of the projectiles still moving towards him and Summers blasted them away. John laughed. "I've learned something alright. You suck." chuckled John. Bobby growled at him.

Pyro stepped forward for his turn. He noticed Summers nodding to Evan with a smile. They were about to try something, well Pyro was going to be ready for them. Sure enough, the turrets fired out twice as many projectiles then when the others did it.

But John was expecting this as flames emerged from John's entire body and shot a wave of fire at the targets. All of the projectiles melted seconds later. He then tossed three fireballs at the three targets near the turrets. All three of them exploded.

All the New Mutants cheered for him as he glanced over a frowning Summers. "I believe that's an A plus mate." chuckled John as he moved back towards the others.

"Whoo John, I didn't know you could create fire." said Amara. "I didn't know about it either until recently. I guess some of that advanced powers of mine never went away." said John.

Next up was Lance and he simply caused tremors that took out the launchers and targets. He smiled triumphantly to Kitty while Bobby and Scott were both less then pleased.

* * *

In the Danger Room, the New Mutants along with Avalanche and Pyro were running an obstacle course. When they got to the end, Lance was suddenly hit by one of the hazards that was supposed to be off after the course was completed.

John glanced up at the control tower to see Scott and Kurt laughing. The New Mutants were laughing as well. "Funny huh, how's this for some laughs." said Pyro as he summoned a dragon made of pure fire.

It flew up to the control tower and spun around. "Hey! Cut it out!" yelled Summers from the intercom. "John, that's enough." said Amara. John snapped his fingers and the dragon disappeared.

All the New Mutants were a little stunned from the whole event while Kurt and Scott were calming down from nearly getting cooked.

* * *

Well, things worked out great for John. He may have gotten grounded but he didn't care. He got to see Xavier criticize Summers and Kurt on responsibility. The best part was that they made excuses like crybabies, at least John took his punishment like a man. So while cleaning out the Danger Room as part of his punishment, John just kept thinking back to that moment again which kept bringing a smile to his face.

"Hey John." Amara said behind him. John turned immediately towards her with the most charming smile he could make. "'Ello Sheila." he said. "Look, I'm sorry about what they did but why did you have to do that?" she asked.

"Oh the whole near torched experience? It's because they kept walking over Lance and me. Ever since we got here, most of the X-Men have made life absolutely hell. You and Kitty have been pretty nice along with the Prof but everyone else still treats us as if we were still with the Brotherhood." explained John.

"So why did you attack them?" she asked. "Let me tell you a story. When I was twelve, an older kid kept bullying me around. Stole my lunch, threw my books into puddles, stuff like that. Now I really hated this guy and this bloke loved to make my life hell. So one day I decided I wasn't going to take it anymore. To sum it up, we got into a fight and he gave me a broken jawbone and rib. But I managed to give 'em a bloody nose and a black eye. Afterwards, he never messed with me again. Not because I beat him, he was the one who handed me a poundin' that day, but because I was more trouble then I was worth. Same thing here, they mess with Lance and me because they think we won't do anything to them. I'm just showing 'em wrong." explained John.

"Okay, I get the idea but Scott and Kurt are supposed to be your teammates." Amara replied. "Someone should tell those blockheads the same thing. They've apparently forgotten that I'm part of the team." said John. "Well, you'll just have to give them time. They don't know you like I do." Amara said with a smile. John realized she was flirting with him and quickly responded.

"Well, not all the X-Men are as beautiful on the inside at they are on the out." said John.

Up in the control room, Xavier and Beast were watching John and Amara continued to flirt with one another. "Well, at least he's getting along with some of the team." said Beast.

"Unfortunately, most of the other X-Men have been competing with Lance and John instead of working together as a team. This has become an us vs. them mentality." said Xavier.

"Well trust isn't earned overnight." said Beast. "Yes but respect should. I'm trying to teach them acceptance of others and forgiveness but still they hold onto their petty rivalries. Lance and John right now are staying only because of Kitty and Amara. If that doesn't change, I doubt they'll stay for long." said Xavier.

* * *

Lance drove John and the other New Mutants to school. The two ex-Brotherhood members got a kick at the sight of Summer's trashed car though they had no clue who did it. They were both on their way to class when suddenly their bodies turned against them and they were forced to slam themselves into the lockers. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this was Kine's doing.

They turned their heads to see Kine standing behind them along with the rest of the Brotherhood. "Hi ya fellas. Long time no see." said Pietro. "Kine, either quit with the body snatching or I'll barbeque ya." said John, summoning a ball of flame into his hand.

Kine quickly released them from his control. "We heard the craziest thing. That you two joined the X-Geeks." said Chris. "So what if we did." said Lance. "I knew it, Mystique's gonna hand you both your left arms when she gets back." said Toad.

"Let her try. For being the so called wicked witch she's supposed to be, how come she's never around? I say screw her." said John.

"Oh yeah. Well I uh, I…" stuttered Fred. Pietro rolled his eyes. "Nice come back Blob." groaned Pietro before turning his attention back to the former Brotherhood members. "You're becoming just like them, you're becoming X-Men." said Pietro.

"So what if we are." said Lance. "Say what?" said a stunned Toad, not believing what he was hearing. "Oh man, to think I used to look up to you Lance. And I was starting to like you as well John." said Fred, pouting.

"Whatever, we've got to class." said Lance who turned and walked away with John. "You're making a mistake fellas. You two will never fit in with them and they'll never accept either one of you." taunted Pietro. Lance lowered his head as they walked away, knowing he was probably right.

* * *

Later that night, Lance was in his room studying when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." he said. To his surprise, it was Lorna. "Got a minute?" she asked. "Uhh, okay." said Lance. Lorna walked in and stood next to Lance who was lying on his bed.

"So, how's life at the Institute?" asked Lorna. "Not too bad. Summers and Kurt can be real jerks but I like it here." said Lance. "Glad to hear that. Life wasn't exactly easy when I decided to join." said Lorna.

"You're kidding me? I thought everyone liked you here." said Lance. "Please, when I first got here I swore everyone was talking behind my back. Not just for me being in the Brotherhood but also for my power. I have the same abilities as the X-Men's toughest enemy." replied Lorna.

"Yeah, I can see how that might be awkward." said Lance, seeing her point.

"Look, I'm not good at speeches or moving orates. That's the Professor's area of expertise. I just don't want you to feel down okay. Forget Scott and the others, just concentrate on the real reason you're here. Impressing Kitty." said Lorna.

That last part caught Lance by surprise. "Huh?" he said. "C'mon Lance, I know you joined the team to impress her." chuckled Lorna. "Okay, that was a factor in my decision." admitted Lance.

"Well let me tell you that I'm glad you're here. I kinda miss you and the rest of the hood boys…well except Pietro." she said. "Uhh, thanks Lorna. Ya know, you're the only person here besides Kitty who's glad I'm here." said Lance.

"Well give it time. Eventually, even Summers won't be able to deny that you're perfect for the X-Men." said Lorna. "Yeah, that'll be a day to remember." chuckled Lance. Lorna got a laugh at that as well. "Well, I'm going to turn in. Good night." said Lorna, heading towards the door.

Lance couldn't help but smile after she left. At least he knows someone else wants him here besides Kitty and the Professor. Maybe Pietro was wrong and he'll be able to fit in here after all.

* * *

John was there the next day when Wolverine was about to take the New Mutants out for a test drive. And apparently, someone had already did that last night. The vehicle was a mess. To no one's surprise, Logan and Scott both blamed Lance and John.

"Hey, I had nothing to do with it. I was with Amara last night." said John. "Yeah, we were studying for our test on Monday." said Amara. "Which subject?" said an unbelieving Summers.

"Human anatomy." said Amara. Everyone stared at them speechless. "You mean you two were…" Roberto started to say.

"Reading our science books!" growled Amara. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Just what exactly did you think she was talking about?" asked Pyro. "Umm uhh, nothing." said Kurt.

* * *

Later that night, everyone was summoned for an emergency. Someone had taken the Blackbird and was on their way back. John along with Amara, Scott, Nightcrawler, Logan, and Xavier stood in the hangar as the X-Jet safely touched down.

When Lance, Kitty, Bobby, Jubilee, and Sam all exited the plane. "Alvers, you took another joyride didn't you!" accused Summers almost immediately. Kitty tried to say something before Lance said, "So what if I did?" almost challenging his rival.

"I knew it." growled Summers. "No, it wasn't him. It was us." said Bobby. "Yeah, we also took the X-Van, Scott's car, and Mister Logan's motorcycle." said Sam.

Wolverine's eyes turned to bloody murder. "My motorcycle?" he growled. "Uhh, just kidding." said Sam, realizing that joke wasn't the best of ideas.

"Well luckily, there's been no official mention of the incident. The military must have believed it was a UFO sighting so they're no doubt covering it up." said Xavier.

After Xavier gave out punishments to the three joy riders, something happened that John didn't expect. "I uhh, guess we all you an apology. Especially me." said Scott, holding out his hand to Lance. But John knew exactly what Lance was going to do before he did it.

"Forget it Summers, I'm outta here." said Lance, heading towards the elevator. "Lance, we're sorry. It's been a difficult transition for us all." said Xavier, but that wasn't going to change Lance's mind.

"Please stay Lance." begged Kitty. "I think I'll be joining ya mate." said John, following Lance. "John, not you too." said a surprised Amara. John turned to her.

"Sorry Sheila, I've enjoyed every minute being here. Especially with you. But it's become apparently clear to me that while we might be ready for the X-Men, the X-Men might not ready for us." said John.

Kitty and Lance whispered to each other in front of the elevator, just before Kitty gave Lance a kiss on the cheek. Lance stood there, smiling as Kitty walked away and John stepped up beside him. "Guess it's back to the Brotherhood for us. Just remember, if they make us go streaking to get back in. I'll torch 'em, you rock 'em." said John.

* * *

At the Brotherhood house, the bunch were sitting around the television watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They were also saying the words as well. "We are the Knights who say NIII!" they yelled out.

Then John and Lance busted in through the front door. "We're back and here to stay. So we don't want a word out of any of you. Especially you Pietro." said Lance. "I told youuuuuuu!" chuckled Pietro. Lance sent a tremor which hurled Pietro and his chair into the wall.

"Anyone else!" yelled Lance. Everyone wisely shook their heads no. Lance and Pyro headed upstairs towards their rooms. "See, I knew they'd be happy to have us back." chuckled John.

(That's all for now folks. Hope you enjoyed it and if you did, let me know. If you didn't, tell me what I did wrong. I could always use some advice. And now for your preview for the next chapter. It always bugged me why didn't we see Pietro in Walking on the Wild Side episode. Then it came to me...well you'll have to read it to find out. My funny bone is back so expect this to be another one of those kinds of fics.)


	13. Pietro's side project

(Time for a short but funny little chapter. Have you ever wondered where Pietro was during the girls little Siren act? Well I've come up with the answer. Let's just say it involves a camera.)

A few days later the Brotherhood (except Pietro) was doing what they do best, sitting in front of their television like a bunch of bums.

"I still can't believe we saved their butts." said Toad. "Well look on the bright side buddy, we'll never let them forget about it." said Kine. "Did Xavier actually think we were going to accept his little offer, after what John and Lance went through?" wondered Chris.

"Well, after saving him and his lackeys, he thought we were quote "hero material in the making"." said Fred. John scoffed, "Like we're ever going to work for him or the dork squad." "Yeah. Been there, done that and I want my money back." said Lance.

Pietro zoomed into the room. "Hello fellas." he said with a grin on his face. "So what evil scheme did you come up with today?" moaned Chris. "Nothing. I just got back my developed photos. I must say Lance, I never understood what you see in little Miss Kitty until now." said Pietro, pulling out one of the photos.

"She looks hot in black." said Pietro. "Let me see!" yelled Lance who snatched the photo out of his hands. Lance stared at the photo of Kitty in black leather practically drooling. "And she ain't the only one who looks good in leather. Take Amara for example." said Pietro.

A second later, John snatched the Amara photo out of Pietro's hand and started drooling. Pietro set the rest down on a table and the rest gathered around. "Why are the girls from the Geek squad all dressed like that?" asked Toad. "Who cares." said Kine, drooling.

"You know what boys, there's only one possible thing we can do with these photos." said Pietro.

* * *

All the girls from the Xavier Institute all joined up with each other during lunch. The previous night was their last time out as the Bayville Sirens. It was fun while it lasted but all good things must come to an end.

"So, what are we going to tell the professor?" asked Lorna. "Nothing, what he doesn't know won't hurt him." said Kitty. "Yeah, do you want to get us grounded?" asked Tabitha. "Yeah, besides we're never going to do it again so it's not like we need to get punished over it." said Jean. "Nice reasoning." said Rogue, rolling her eyes.

Two guys walked by them, whistling at them. The girls just ignored them. "Is Scott or Kurt going to tell him?" asked Amara. "No, they said they won't say a word to the Professor." said Jean. Another boy walks by, winking at them. "Lookin good." he said as he walked by.

"What was that?" asked Tabitha. "I have no idea." said Rogue. The girls glanced around and noticed all the boys in the room had packets and were seemingly enjoying watching whatever was in them. Deciding to check them out, the girls take a packet which turned out to be a calendar that was sitting on a nearby table.

To their surprise it was a calendar, with pictures of them in their Bayville Siren outfits. "What in the world?" yelled Jean. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." grumbled Rogue. "Hey that's mine." said a boy coming back from getting his lunch. The girls all glared at him. "Where did you get this." demanded Kitty. "Maximoff's selling 'em in the hallway." said the boy.

In the hallway, Pietro is handing out his newly made calendars. "C'mon folks, get your Xavier Institute Diva calendar for only three bucks. All proceeds go to the Get Evan Daniels a Brain Fund, a true worthy cause." he shouted.

"PIETRO!!!!!" he heard screaming behind him. He turned to see all the Institute girls standing there, and they looked ticked. Before he knew it, they grabbed him and dragged him into a corner out of sight. "How did you get these?" demanded Lorna.

"By using a Polaroid." chuckled Pietro. SMACK! "Ouch!" yelled Pietro after Lorna smacked him on the head. "You were taking pictures of us while we were the Sirens? Are you trying to get us caught?" growled Rogue. "Relax, I never told anyone you girls were the Sirens." he said.

"Great. They won't think we're crime fighters, they'll think we're sluts." growled Amara. "Slut is such a negative word, you girls are more along the lines of nerdy. Hot but still nerdy." said Pietro before Rogue slapped him in the face. "Ouch! Stop that!" said Pietro.

"Oh, if Scott ever sees this…" mumbled Jean. "Seen it? Ha! He was one of my first customers." said Pietro. "What?! He is so dead!" roared Jean who stormed off. "Let me guess, Lance bought one too." moaned Kitty.

"Nope, he just took the photos that had you in 'em." said Pietro. Kitty growled and ran off. "Blue Boy did it as well, along with Bobby and Sam." continued Pietro. "Why those little…" growled Rogue before she, Tabitha, and Lorna stormed off.

"Let me guess, John took all the photos that had me in them." said Amara. "Nope, Romeo decided that he wasn't going to have anything to do with these pictures. Said that it didn't matter what you wore because you were beautiful no matter what you wore." said Pietro.

"He actually said that?" asked a stunned Amara. Pietro busted up laughing. "Of course not, he's got plenty of photos of you." chuckled Pietro. WHACK! "Ouch!" yelled Pietro as Amara smacked him on the head twice.

Back at the lunchroom: Chris, Kine, Fred, and Toad were watching the girls from the Xavier Institute chasing around the lunch room various mutant males. "Get back here!" yelled Jean, chasing after Scott. "Lance, you are so dead!" growled Kitty, chasing after Lance. "Come back here and die like men!" yelled Rogue who was chasing alongside Lorna and Tabitha after Kurt, Sam, and Bobby. "What's wrong with some pictures?" asked John as he ran from Amara.

Pietro took his seat next to the others. "This worked out perfectly. We got to see the X-Geeks get humiliated, the girls beat up the guys, and now the whole school loves us." said Pietro. The others all nodded, enjoying the spectacle around them.

(See, short but silly. I'm afraid I might not be able to update soon because I'm starting to catch up with myself. The next chapter will probably be the last at least for a few days. I'm having writer's block and I need to get out of it before I can continue. Next chapter preview, Cerebro detects a mutant who is being chased by Sinister and his goons. It's going to be X-Men vs. the Marauders.)


	14. Hunter, Prey

(SunshineGirl177, I know how you feel. It took me months to write this chapter. First I managed to finish it then my computer caught a virus and I lost all my files. Thankfully, I had a backup copy of this fic on a flashdrive but I didn't update it very often so I had to practically write the entire chapter again. It actually worked out for the best though since I prefer the new ending I put in. This will be by far the longest chapter yet, and I hope you enjoy it.)

It was just a normal Friday night at the Xavier Institute with everyone celebrating the weekend and making plans. While most of the students were doing homework, Bobby and a few of the new mutants decide to play a prank on Lorna in the Danger Room.

Long story short, Lorna leaves the New Mutants wrapped in metal all over the Danger Room and heads to her room. "We're sorry, now let us out of here." said Bobby as Lorna walked out.

She passed by Storm. "Lorna, could you tell the others to assemble in the library room? Charles found a new mutant and will be done with Cerebro shortly." said Storm. "Okay." said Lorna.

After telling a few of the girls, she headed towards Scott's room. She found him talking to someone on the computer. A blond haired boy about Lorna's age and whose looks screamed out surfer. "Scott, the Professor wants us all in the library room." she said.

"Alright, I'll be down in a second." said Scott. "And who are you?" asked the surfer. "Lorna this is my brother Alex. Alex, meet Lorna Dale." said Summers, introducing them.

"Wow, I love the emerald hair. If I may say so, you are stunning." said Alex. Lorna couldn't help but blush at that comment. Most people consider her green hair to be a major turn off. But no one's ever called her hair emerald like a jewel or something beautiful. Scott started noticing what was happening and he did not like it.

"Listen Alex, we've got to go. So I'll call same time next week?" asked Scott. "No problemo bro. Oh, one more thing. That offer of joining the Institute, I have to tell ya just got a lot more appealing." said Alex, winking at Lorna before signing off. Scott rolled his eyes while Lorna walked off smiling.

Later in the library, the whole X-Men wait as Xavier enters the room. "Cerebro has detected a new mutant in Manhattan. She's extremely frightened and I believe she may be a danger to others if cornered." said Xavier.

"Who is she?" asked Jean. "Her name is Vanessa Marshall. Unfortunately, practically no information exists on her. She disappeared from her foster parent's home when she was seven years old and has not been heard from since." said Xavier.

"Any idea what she can do?" asked Scott. "No, the strange thing is that Cerebro keeps losing her at various moments. As if she just vanishes completely for a time then reappears. Also, there is a complication. Cerebro has also detected at least two other mutants in the area and they seemed to be following her." said Xavier.

Suddenly the alarm went off overhead. Xavier headed towards a nearby wall terminal. "Alert, new mutant signature detected and matched to archive file. Cain Marko." said the computer. "WHAT?!!!" everyone (except Lorna) practically all yelled out at once.

"How did he get out?" asked Rogue. "Who's Cain Marko?" asked Lorna, confused. "He's the prof's stepbrother and he's basically a steroid buffed superman with a violent temper." said Daniels.

"Let's just say there's a reason why he's called Juggernaut." said Kurt. "But how did he get out? He's like supposed to be in a maximum security prison." said Kitty. "Maybe Mystique broke him out again." suggested Rogue. "Why would she do that? He tried to kill her the last time she did." said Daniels.

"Calm down everyone." said Storm as Xavier finished doing over the data. "I'll contact Captain Stone but Cerebro is detecting Cain's mutant signature in the same area as Vanessa and the other two." said Xavier.

* * *

"How did she get out!!!?" yelled Essex to his two subordinates. "She went nuts okay? Wouldn't stop screaming that she wanted to see her uncle. We tried to put the collar on her but she went ballistic on us and ran off." said Arclight, trembling at the sight of Sinister's anger.

"You two imbeciles couldn't calm her? I could have done that in my sleep." growled Essex. Both Arclight and Harpoon expected the boss to fry both of them but then Nathaniel calmed down.

"Take the others and track her down. But do not engage her, I don't want any harm to come to her. When you find her, contact me. I'll bring her in myself." said Essex before his cell phone rang. "Yes…Really?...Hmm, I don't like the timing of this…No, you were right to call. We'll talk at the drop off later." Sinister spoke over the phone before hanging up.

"The X-Men just left the Institute. The fact that they are just leaving now that Vanessa is out in the open cannot be a coincidence. I don't care what it takes, do not let her fall into their hands. Am I clear?" said Sinister. The two grunts quickly nodded their heads.

* * *

On board, the X-Men were suited up. This time, Lorna was going with them as Xavier felt that she had mastered her powers enough to join the team. That made a few of the other New Mutants upset but the simple fact was that Lorna was one of the most powerful of the New Mutants, even more powerful then most of the X-Men.

Her outfit was an emerald color outfit that matched her hair. Her mind was elsewhere though. The images of a certain helmeted man were on her mind. Magneto they called him. His power wasn't similar to her's, it was exactly her's. Though they never said it to her face, she knew the others talked behind her back. Wondering just what her relationship was to their arch nemesis. She had something back at the mansion that could give her answers but she would save that for another day.

The Professor gave them all a picture of her. "Remember, she's very terrified and confused. I don't want any strong arm tactics so be on all your best behavior." he told them. A few minutes later, the Jet landed on an abandoned construction site.

Everyone got out of the jet and it vanished, it's cloaking field enveloping it. Lorna could never get over how cool that was. Logan told everyone they were going to split into three teams.

Summers, Jean, and Evan were team one. Team two were Wolverine, Kurt, Polaris, and Kitty. Team three were Storm, Xavier, and Rogue.

The teams all broke apart, heading around the back alleys of the city were Xavier kept getting quick readings of her. "Any idea how she's able to confuse the Professor?" asked Lorna. "Maybe she's a teleporter like Kurt." suggested Kitty.

"Can't be. A teleporter appears somewhere else instantly, our girl seems to dropping off the face of the Earth for a while then pops back." said Wolverine. _I've located her. She's about four blocks ahead of you Logan._ said a mental message from Xavier that they all received. "Let's move." ordered Logan.

On a rooftop nearby, Ruckus was scooping out the area with binoculars. "Guys, X-Men are in the area." he said into his radio. _"Ignore them for now, just find the girl."_ ordered Arclight over the radio. As much as he wanted to blast them, Ruckus headed towards the ladder and climbed down.

Logan and his team continued forward when they heard crying behind a dumpster. Logan was about to step towards it when Lorna stopped him. "Let me go first. No offense Mister Logan but I think the first person she sees should be a friendly face." suggested Lorna.

Logan growled but nodded, knowing he wasn't exactly the nicest looking member of the team. Lorna walked around the dumpster to find a girl crouched up behind in tears. She was about fifteen or so years old and had long white hair.

"Hello, are you okay?" asked Lorna. The girl, Vanessa, scrambled to her feet. "Who are you?" she asked, terrified. It looked like she was ready to bolt in a seconds notice. "I'm Lorna and I was wondering if you were okay." said Lorna.

The other members of Team two stood back out of sight watching the two converse. Logan activated his radio.

"We found her. Lorna's talking to her now but the kid is scared of something." said Logan into his comlink. "Good work, I want everyone to proceed to Team 2's location but stay out of the girl's sight. I don't think a large crowd will go over well with her." Xavier's voice came over the radio.

Just then, Logan smelled something in the air. "What's wrong?" asked Kitty. "We're not alone." growled Logan as his claws popped out. Suddenly, the building behind them shook and cracked. Kurt quickly grabbed Kitty and Logan and teleported them away before the building collapsed down on top of them.

Both Lorna and Vanessa gasped at the mayhem behind them. This provided a distraction as Ruckus came out of a nearby building. He took in a large breath and released a powerful sonic burst from his mouth. Lorna didn't have time to react to it as the burst send her flying into the wall.

Ruckus laughed as he fixed his slick short blond hair. The seventeen year old arrogantly walked towards Lorna who was struggling to her feet. "Time to feel the NOISE!!!" yelled Ruckus as he released another sonic burst. But this time Lorna was ready.

She summoned several large metallic dumpster in front of her and used her magnetic powers to hold them in place as the sound burst pushed against the dumpsters. But Lorna's magnetism was strong enough to hold them and as soon as the burst ended, she sent the dumpsters hurling towards Ruckus.

He jumped out of the way but one of the dumpsters stopped and homed in on Ruckus. Before he could react, the dumpster literally opened up and a metallic strip came out like a tongue and wrapped around Ruckus's mouth. It pulled him inside and closed. He banged against the walls but it didn't do him any good. And the strip around his mouth prevented him from using his powers.

Lorna glanced around and realized that Vanessa was gone. "Crap." she muttered.

Meanwhile, Kurt appeared on top of a nearby building with Logan and Kitty. "That was close." said Kurt, referring to the nearby collapsed building.

On the alley beneath them, Arclight stood charging up. The eighteen year old's purple emo hairstyle was a dead giveaway that he was a mutant. "Humpty Dumpty stood on a wall. Humpty Dumpty is about to have a bad fall." chuckled Arclight as he punched the building, sending powerful seismic energy into it.

The three on top struggled as the building they were on began to shake and crack. "Elf, get us back on the ground." ordered Logan. Nightcrawler grabbed both Kitty and Logan and teleported away as the building they were on collapsed.

They popped up right behind Arclight who didn't notice them. Wolverine pounced on from behind and placed his claws at Arclight's neck. "Okay bub, start talking or I'll start carving. Who are you and what are you doing here?" growled Logan.

"The name's Arclight and I'm the guy who has a job to do." grunted Arclight. "And just what is that?" demanded Kitty. "This." said Arclight before slamming his fist into the ground.

The alley shook violently, throwing Logan off of Arclight and sending Kitty and Kurt falling to the ground. When the three got to their feet, Arclight was gone. Lorna approached them. "I lost Vanessa, but I managed to trap some guy who attacked me." said Lorna.

"Let's go have a chat with him." said Logan. The four went to the dumpster where Ruckus was trapped, only to find it ripped apart and nobody in sight. Wolverine tapped his radio. "Chuck, we've got a problem. It looks like we're not the only ones looking for the girl." said Logan.

* * *

Cyclops, Jean, and Spyke were all listening in on Xavier's and Logan's conversation as they continued searching for Vanessa. _"That's strange, whoever these mutants are have the ability to mask their presence from me."_ said Xavier over the com.

"You think they're the ones Vanessa is running from?" asked Summers. "Let's assume so. Continue your search but be on your guard." ordered Xavier over the com. "Well let's get going." said Daniels who walked ahead of the others.

Suddenly, he was jerked backwards telekinetically by Jean and good thing she did because a large dumpster came flying at where Daniel's was standing a moment ago. "Whoa, talk about a close call." said Daniels.

The three mutants turned to where the dumpster came from and standing there were two mutants. One was huge, with arms that were bigger then his legs. The eighteen year old bald Blockbuster cracked his massive knuckles.

Standing beside him was a twenty year old man who wore metallic armor that practically covered his entire body. The armor resembled an exoskeleton combat suit. The black haired Scalphunter smiled as his mechanical arms transform into large chain guns.

"Fun time!" yelled Scalphunter as he fired lasers from his gun arms, the barrels spinning like crazy. The three X-Men quickly take off running as Scalphunter and Blockbuster chase after them. Scalphunter fired his cannons like a maniac, laughing the entire time.

"Time to spice things up!" laughed Scalphunter as his arms guns transform into flamethrowers. He fired flames that stretched across to both ends of the alleyway and was heading towards the X-Men like a wall of fire. The X-Men manage to leap out of the alley and the flames pass by them and die in the streets.

The three glance back into the alleyway to see their two attackers gone. "This is Team One, we were just attacked but we're alright. The strange thing is they just attacked us and ran." said Summers into his com link.

"_Probably because we're not who they're after, they just want us out of the way." _came Logan's voice over the radio.

* * *

"She ran this way." said Logan before he took off running. He didn't care whether the others were keeping up, Vanessa was in trouble and they needed to find her quickly. He followed her trail around a corner and found a dead end alley with no there. Also, Vanessa's scent was gone as well.

The others quickly caught up with him. "Her scent ends here." said Logan. "Then what happened to her, did she teleport away or something?" asked Kitty. "No, her scent ends but I smell someone familiar." said Wolverine. Then Lorna sensed it, the incredibly powerful magnetic fields that began to form all around them. "It's Magneto!" yelled Logan.

Suddenly, he was hurled into the wall and pinned by an unseen force. Garbage cans were lifted into the air and hurled at them. Kitty phased through them while Kurt teleported around them and Lorna managed to create a magnetic field to hold them at bay.

A sewage line broke through the ground and opened a hole just below Kitty who fell into it. Kurt was hit by a flying metal pipe that got hit him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. Lorna used all her might to keep her magnetic field in place while dozens of metallic objects banged against, trying to get through.

A fire escape ladder broke off from a nearby building and wrapped around the magnetic field, squeezing it like a boa. Just as Lorna was about to collapse, the magnetic fields disappeared and the metallic debris fell to the ground.

Logan fell to the ground, freed from his magnetic hold. He quickly checked on Kurt who was starting to come to. He had a concussion perhaps but he looked okay. Lorna was exhausted and couldn't even stand. Holding that field together took a lot out of here.

Kitty phased through the ground, covered in sewage. "That magnetic jerk! I'm gonna need to shower for a week." she growled. "Why didn't he finish us off?" asked Kurt. "I don't know and I don't care. We need to get you all back to the Blackbird." said Logan.

"Chuck, looks like Magneto beat us to the girl." Logan said into his radio. _"No Logan, I can still sense her nearby. She must have escaped." said Xavier. _"Lorna and Kurt are in bad shape, I'm getting them back to the Blackbird." said Logan. _"Understood Logan. I'll have Rogue and Storm go ahead without me, they'll be able to move much faster." said Xavier._

* * *

Scott and Spyke continued onwards following Jean. She sensed Vanessa nearby but couldn't get an exact fix on her location. Then Spyke caught a glimpse of a white haired girl running past them. "Hey wait! We're not gonna hurt you." he yelled as he chased after her. The others followed.

Suddenly, all three of them became dizzy and felt the world was spinning around. The three turned to see two mutants, Harpoon and Vertigo behind them. Vertigo was an sixteen year old girl with short green hair and was unleashing waves of psionic energy that was causing the three X-Men to feel dizzy.

The nineteen year old Harpoon smiled as an energy spear formed in his hands. He lifted it up and prepared to throw it when Summers blasted Vertigo with an optic blast. Jean shot out a telepathic wave that knocked Harpoon back and loosing his grip on the spear. It exploded once hitting the ground, nearly synching Harpoon.

Suddenly, Cain Marko without his helmet busted through a nearby wall. "Outta my way!" he yelled and charged at the X-Men. They jumped out of his way as he ran onwards towards Harpoon and Vertigo. The two got to their feet and noticed Juggernaut charging at them too late. "Ah crap." moaned Harpoon as Cain knocked them both aside and ran right through the wall.

The two of them managed to scramble away as the X-Men chased after Juggernaut. "C'mon, we've got to stop him before he causes too much damage." said Cyclops. "Why doesn't he have his helmet on?" wondered Jean. "I want to know how he can be here and Stokes County at the same time. I don't recall the Professor saying Juggernut had a twin." said Spyke.

But as soon as Juggernaut was out of sight, they lost him. Jean tried a mental sweep but couldn't find him. "Guys, I can't sense him anywhere. It's like he just disappeared." said Jean. "What is going on around here?" Scott wondered out loud.

* * *

Rogue and Storm continued moving along through the back alleys. When Rogue turned a corner, Vanessa ran right into her causing both of them to collapse on top of each other. But it was what happened next that really shocked the both of them. Nothing.

"What the…I touched her and nothing happened." said a stunned Rogue. "How is this possible? Why can't I become you?" asked a shocked Vanessa, who was crawling backwards away from them. "Wait child, it's alright. We're your friends." said Storm, trying to calm her down.

"I don't have any friends." said Vanessa. Suddenly, everyone felt dizzy and unable to stand. Behind them were Vertigo, Scalphunter, Arclight, and Harpoon. "Time to take a ride friends." said Arclight who slammed his fist into the ground, sending a seismic wave towards them.

Suddenly, Vanessa shape shifted into a young thirityish man and seemed to absorb the ground wave with his hands. She then shape shifted again, this time into Magneto. Everything metallic began to float into the air. "Ah crap, RUN!!!" yelled Scalphunter. The Marauders took off running as Magneto chase after them hurling metallic objects at them.

"Wait a minute, she's a shape shifter?" asked Rogue. "Who seems to be able to mimic one's appearance and powers as well. That would explain why Cerebro detected Juggernaut. She must be able to mimic a person down to the DNA." said Storm.

"But how come I couldn't take her powers?" asked Rogue. "I don't know. We need to go after her…" Storm started to say before suddenly a massive fist hit her. She was sent flying into a brick wall and slumped to the ground unconscious.

Rogue turned to the large fist belonged to a strange looking man. His whole body seemed to be purple along with pinkish hair. The stretched out fist seemed to shrink as it retracted back to the body. The guy reminded Rogue of the T-1000 from Terminator.

"Sorry lady but no more running." he said. Rogue dashed towards him but Gorgeous George stretched out his hand and hit her in the chest, knocking her to the ground. "As long as I don't touch your skin, I'll be quite fine." he said.

Then he grabbed an empty beer can and smashed it, pointing the now pointed end outwards. "But I don't need to touch you to kill you." said George before thrusting his fist with the can at her, planning to stab her with it.

Suddenly, a glowing object hit him in the chest and exploded. George screamed in pain as he fell back and dropped the bottle. Rogue turned to see a young eighteen or nineteen year old with straight red hair and wearing a brown trench coat. But it was his black and red eyes that caught Rogue's attention.

"Now now Georgie, didn't your mother ever teach you never to hit a lady or did she not bother knowing how stupid that silly puddy brain of yours is?" mocked the stranger with a Cajun accent. George growled and leaped at him. Gambit then pulled out a retractable metallic staff and extended both ends with a touch of a button.

The staff then glowed purple with energy and Gambit swatted George away in mid-air. The liquid-like mutant screamed as he was launched back. "Care to try your luck mon ami?" asked the Cajun, pulling out a card and charging it with energy.

"You're gonna get yours traitor." growled George before running away. Gambit put away his weapons then turned to Rogue who was still on the ground and helped her to her feet. "You alright?" asked Gambit. Rogue found herself mesmerized by Gambit's eyes, they were beautiful.

Gambit noticed this. "Do my eyes please you chere?" asked Gambit playfully. Rogue finally snapped back to reality, trying not to blush. "Uhh, thanks." she said. "My pleasure." said Gambit, smiling. Rogue turned to see Storm regaining consciousness. Then as soon as she turned back, Gambit was gone.

* * *

Wolverine managed to get the others back to the X-Jet when he heard chatter on the radio. Now that he knew what was going on, he could probably track Vanessa. "Elf, Half pint, you two stay here and watch Lorna. I'll find the girl." said Wolverine.

* * *

The Marauders ran into an empty warehouse with metallic debris and Vanessa (in Magneto form) chasing them. They were all backed into a corner. "I told you to leave me alone." growled Vanessa. "We're sorry. How about we promise never to do it again?" gulped Arclight.

"Liars!" Vanessa yelled out. All the Marauders prepared for the debris to impale them when suddenly a dart hit Vanessa in the neck. She fell to the ground unconscious and shape shifted back to her original teenage form.

Stepping into view was Sinister with a tranq gun in his hands. "Thanks boss." said Harpoon. Sinister glared at him and Arclight. "Next time you screw up this bad, you'll wish she killed you here." growled Sinister. The two underlings nodded their heads quickly.

Blockbuster picked Vanessa up when Wolverine busted into the building. "Okay bubs, hands off the girl." growled Logan, his claws extending. Sinister stared at Logan for a moment then smiled. "James? Is that you?" asked Sinister.

At the mention of that name, something clicked in Logan's mind. It was like the dots were there but he just couldn't connect them. "Who are you?" demanded a confused Logan. "You don't remember me? Oh, of course not. Colonel Wraith did away with your memory. Probably took credit for my work too." said Sinister.

"Who are you?" growled Logan, getting impatient. "I'm the one who gave you those metal bones of yours." smiled Sinister. Logan dashed forward at him. Sinister calmly raised his right hand and fired an energy blast out of it. The blast knocked Logan all the way to the wall.

"Why such anger James? As I recall, you volunteered for the procedure." said Sinister as the rest of the Marauders left with Vanessa. That last statement caught Logan off guard. "I…volunteered?" wondered Logan. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this reunion short. Goodbye James." said Sinister before walked out the exit.

Logan struggled to get up but the blast took a lot out of him. But it was Sinister's words that affect him the most. He volunteered for what happened to him? Why? Who was that man and if what he said was true, then Logan wondered what kind of person was he before his memory was wiped.

* * *

When the X-Jet got back to the Mansion, Beast was waiting for them in the Hangar. They all exited the fighter with very depressed looks. "I take it things didn't go very well." said Beast, noticing their faces. "I'm afraid we have a problem." said Xavier.

"That's an understatement." said Kurt, helping Lorna out of the jet. "We nearly got killed out there by another mutant faction." said Scott. "And they were nothing like the Brotherhood. These guys are going to be a serious problem in the future." said Jean.

Logan walked passed everyone, not saying a word. "And Logan will probably be leaving for a few days. Needs to clear his head." said Xavier. "Sounds like we all need that." said Beast.

(Did you like my little Gambit appearance? As for why Vanessa and Rogue can't affect each other through touch, well you'll have to stay tuned because she'll be back. I didn't really change the Mauraders much except Scalphunter. His mutant power is that he can assemble any machine that he can think of but I decided to change that to being to able to change machinery with a touch. I don't know when I'll be able to update next but I will try to do it as quickly as I can. Now for your preview of the next chapter, the X-Men are all bumped about Mesmero taking control of them. Well, the Brotherhood decides to cheer them up in their own special way.)


	15. Just another typical day in school

(Okay, I seemed to have been able to break through my writer's block long enough to write down this silly little aftermath chapter of the whole Mesmero incident. And yes rogue-scholar07, Vanessa is Copycat. Just to avoid any confusion, in the last chapter Vanessa turned into someone who absorbed the seismic tremor created by Arclight. That person is Maverick or Agent Zero as he's sometimes called. Now for a short little chapter of the Brotherhood trying to cheer up the X-men in their little way.)

After a harsh weekend with Mesmero taking control of much of the entire team, the main X-Men sat at lunch during school pretty much in silence. But that was about to change very quickly.

"Hello friends." said Pietro as he and the rest of the Brotherhood sat down at the same table as the X-Men who moaned. "What do you want?" groaned Scott.

"We just walked to hangout with our fellow hoodlums." said Toad with a smile on his face. "What are you talking about? Get lost." growled Jean. "Kitty what happened? We saw you guys robbing that museum on the news." said Lance.

All the X-Men gulped at that. "How did you guys know that, the camera's didn't see our faces." said Kitty. "We saw the footage and put two and two together." said Lance.

"Yeah, it's not like some of us are flunking out of math class." said Pietro, glancing at Evan when he said that. Spyke growled. "That does it, Ah'm outta her." said Rogue, getting up from the table. "I think I'll join you." said Lorna as the two girls walked away.

"Traitors." Kine yelled out to them. "Now seeing as you're all one of us now, we've decided to prep the Boarding House for all of you." said Chris. "What?" said Kurt. "Well you can't hang out at Xavier's place now that you're all a bunch of 'hoods." chuckled Pyro

"That wasn't our fault." said Summers. "Oh right, nothing's ever your fault. Let me guess the devil made you do it?" snickered Fred. "No, Jean and the others were under the control of a mutant named Mesmero." said Kitty. "Great not only did you blame the devil, you used the wrong name as well. It's Lucifer." said Fred.

"Daniels, for a long time I thought you were a pathetic loser with no potential and very bad hair. But after what you did in that museum, you're still a pathetic loser with bad hair but now you have potential. I'm so proud of you." said Pietro before squeezing Evan's cheek like a grandma.

Evan swatted away Pietro's hand and tries to hit him. But Pietro zooms behind him and shoves him to the ground. "You may have potential but you still have no brains." chuckled Pietro. He took off running and Evan chased after him.

"Can't you control these idiots?!" Scott yelled at Lance. "Maybe you should try controlling your own group. Like for example a certain popsicle and his friends who took a bunch of joy rides and let me take the blame." growled Lance.

All the X-Men were silent. "Ooooh, he got ya on that." chuckled Pyro.

"Forget this, I'm outta here." said Lance, storming off. "Lance wait." said Kitty, chasing after him. "Now look what you've done. One would think you people would learn a little responsibility" snickered Pyro.

"You're lecturing us about responsibility? You tried to barbeque me and Kurt!" yelled Scott. "Trust me mate. If I wanted to put you on the barbie, I could do it without breaking a sweat." growled Pyro.

Now Summers and Pyro were on their feet, ready to attack at any moment. "Scott don't, he's not worth it." said Jean, trying to calm Cyclops down. "Yeah, that's right Scotty. Listen to Miss "I'm so perfect that I don't even need a nickname."". chuckled Fred.

"Shut up!" growled Kurt. "Make us." dared Chris. "Forget this, let's get out of here." said Summers as the X-Men all got to their feet. "I don't think so." said Kine who sent neural commands that forced the X-Men all to sit.

"Let us go now Kine or I'll put you through the wall." threatened Jean. "What do we have to do to pick a fight with these guys?" Toad asked the others. "I think I've got an idea." snickered Kine who sent a neural command that forced Summers to dunk his head into his own bowl of soup. All the Brotherhood members laughed like crazy.

The X-Men had enough. Summers leaped over the table and tackled Kine. And pretty soon the whole lunch room erupted in a massive brawl (with no powers of course.)

A few hours later in detention, the X-Men (minus Rogue, Kitty, and Lorna) sat with the Brotherhood (minus Lance and Pietro). What surprised the X-Men was that Spyke was with them. "How did you get stuck here?" asked Kurt.

"I chased after Pietro to the parking lot where he shoved a spray paint can into my hands and knocked me to the ground. Next thing I know, Principal Kelly's standing over me thinking I'm the one who vandalized his car." said Daniels.

"C'mon pointy, one would think you'd figure out that Pietro plans these things and you always fall for them so easily." chuckled Chris. "There's goes my perfect record, so much for my shot at Valedictorian." grumbled Jean.

"Ah being perfect is boring. That's why we got you to join us in detention, so you would know the beauty of not caring what other people think of you." said Toad. "I can't believe Alvers isn't here." mumbled Scott. "Well, he decided to not to get into the fight. Unlike you who started it." said Pyro. "I STARTED IT?! You're the ones who shoved my head into a soupbowl!" yelled Summers.

"I know how to get us all to be happy together, let's all sing the Brotherhood theme song." said Fred happily. "NOOOO!" yelled all the X-Men. "Not that song again." pleaded Kurt. "Anything but that." moaned Evan.

Then the Brotherhood started singing their own version of Smash Mouth Average Superheroes, only it sounded a little different. "We're just your average supersexy incredible superheroes. Saving the X-Geeks because without us they'd dead." the Brotherhood all sang.

The Brotherhood came up with this song right after they saved the X-Men from Silver Samurai. "Why does God hate me?" moaned Evan. Suddenly Pietro zipped inside carrying a large roll of paper.

"That's a good question my boy and I've decided to answer it with this little list." said Pietro who dropped one end of the roll which fell all the way to the floor. The paper was titled: 101 REASONS WHY GOD HATES EVAN DANIELS.

"Number 1, you're a dork. Number 2, you're an idiot. Number 3, you have really bad hair. Number 4, repeat 1 and 2." chuckled Pietro as he read off from the list. Evan tried to hit him but Pietro zoomed off laughing.

(And things end as they usually do, the X-Men and Brotherhood still hating each other. But come on, it's more entertaining when they don't get along. I'm afraid I won't be able to post my next chapter soon but I'll try to get it done as soon as possible. On the next chapter, it's Shadowdance. Everybody's getting dates for the dance but Kurt's little dimensional rifts allow more then just Jurassic Park wannabes through but Kurt's own father Azazel as well.)


	16. Shadowdance part 1

(I'm back folks and ready to give my version of a personal favorite of mine, Shadowdance. Since this chapter is so long, I've decided to break it up into two chapters. And Azazel will be very different from his comic book version. Now please enjoy Shadowdance part 1).

The Bayville High Sadie Hawkins dance was finally approaching and all the girls were scrambling for dates. Well, most of them anyways. Lorna on the other hand had no interest in going with anybody.

Bobby kept trying to put the moves on her but she found him just plain annoying. Sam wasn't as bad but he practically hero worshipped Bobby and all his little pranks so he was out the window. Berserker didn't know the meaning of the word self control. And Roberto was arrogant, a major turn off for Lorna.

The only guy Lorna would consider asking would be Scott's cute younger brother and he was currently not even on the same continent. Following her usual morning routine, she dyed her hair blond again and followed Rogue and Kitty to the elevator.

"Not enough sleep? You and Lance were still talking on the phone at 1:30. So did you ask him?" Rogue asked Kitty. "To the dance? No, you'd know whatever else around here would say." said Kitty. "Who cares?" said Lorna.

"Have you asked Scott?" Kitty asked Rogue as she hit the call button for the elevator. "You'd better hurry before Jean moves in." chuckles Lorna. "Listen, the last guy I danced with ended up in a coma." groaned Rogue, obviously unhappy with her no touching policy.

"C'mon Rogue, I know you still like him. Especially after last night." said Kitty. "Excuse me?" gulped Rogue. "I heard you talking in your sleep, kept mumbling about someone's beautiful eyes." chuckled Kitty.

"Start talking Rogue, was it Scott?" teased Lorna.

"NO! It wasn't Scott, it was somebody…" Rogue started to say before stopping herself. "Wait a minute, it wouldn't be that guy who saved you back in that alley would it?" asked Lorna.

Rogue moaned. "HAHA! I knew it." chuckled Kitty. Finally, the elevator doors open. "It's about time." grumbled Rogue as she stepped inside. The others followed her as the doors began to close. "Hold that elevator." Jean yelled out to them down the hall.

Rogue pressed the stop button, keeping the doors open. "Thanks guys." said Jean as she stepped inside. The other girls all threw her looks. "Sorry, I mean girls." Jean corrected herself. Rogue pressed the subbasement level button and the elevator closed.

"Why do we even need to be at this anyways? It's just a test for Kurt." said Kitty, yawning. "We work as a team so it's imp…" Jean started to say before Rogue interrupted. "-portant to know everything about each other's strengths and weaknesses. Blah blah." groaned Rogue.

As soon as the elevator doors opened Rogue passed by everybody out. "What's her problem?" asked Jean. "She's just bummed about the dance, you know her no touching thing." replied Lorna. "Oh." said Jean, understanding.

"So are you going with Duncan?" asked Kitty, trying to change the subject. "He thinks so, he even bought the tickets. I just might have to disappoint him." said Jean, moving ahead of Kitty and Lorna.

"Just what exactly does she see in that moron?" Lorna wondered. "Who Duncan? He's the most popular guy in the school." said Kitty. "I'd rather go with Toad to the dance then with that womanizing spoiled brat." said Lorna. Kitty chuckled at that.

When the girls finally arrived inside the Danger Room, Kurt was already dressed up in various equipment and a breathing mask designed by Forge.

"You ready to boogie?" asked Forge. "Boogie?" frowned Kurt. "You know trip the rift, go where no man has gone before." answered Forge. "I guess." grunted Kurt, obviously uncomfortable. "How long will I be in there?" Kurt continued.

"Just a few seconds, I can set your speed with this chronometer." said Forge, entering five seconds on the device strapped to Kurt's chest. "Scott, make sure his breathing mask is secured. The phosphorous smoke Kurt leaves behind when he teleports indicates the atmosphere may be toxic." said Xavier.

Scott did so and Kurt was all set. "Aim for my old lab in the high school. It's farther then you've gone before and there shouldn't be anyone there to see your arrival." said Forge. "When you've arrived, report back via your communicator." said Xavier.

And with that said, Forge's nearby equipment activated. The machines counted down to zero then Kurt disappeared.

* * *

The next thing Kurt knew, he was floating in the air. The Danger Room was gone, replaced with a large canyon of flowing magma and molten rock. Smog filled the sky, making it completely black. The only source of light came from the magma itself. No sign of vegetation or any other form of life.

What Kurt didn't notice was several creatures hiding behind various large rocks, observing him. One prepared to charge at the intruder but a clawed hand stopped it. "Be still. That one shall not be harmed." ordered a humanoid figure in the shadows. The creature bowed it's head fearfully.

Kurt disappeared in a energy rift. The figure emerged from the shadows, a massive demonic looking creature. Two arms, two legs, two massive bat like wings and a long tail with a tip similar to Kurt's.

* * *

At the high school, Kurt reappeared. "Wow, what a trip! Hang on, I'm coming home." he said before teleporting back to the mansion. No sooner did he disappear then a rift open and the demonic figure entered this realm. He began to laugh.

"It works. I always knew you would be the salvation of our race my son." said the demon. And now Azazel had finally returned to Earth and had found a stable doorway between dimensions that would allow his race to finally reclaim it's rightful place.

* * *

At the Brotherhood house, Lance was banging on Pyro's door. "C'mon John, we've got to get going or we're going to be late." said Lance. "I'm almost done. Just a few words." said John. Lance moaned, it was bad enough that Pietro did this all the time but now John as well.

The door opened and out came John happy as could be. In his room was a cauldron boiling something and dozens of other things that made John's room seem like it belongs to a witch.

"Please tell me you weren't trying to cast one of Pietro's love spells?" groaned Lance. "I was trying to get a little added advantage. Today's the day she's going to ask." said John, hoping that Amara would ask him to the dance.

"Don't tell me you actually believe in that crap?" grumbled Lance as they headed downstairs. "Who took my love spell book and my cauldron?!" yelled out a worried Pietro. "It's in John's room." Lance told him.

"Thank goodness, I've a dozen spells to cast before the dance. That way, I'll be dancing with all the hotties." said Pietro before dashing upstairs. "I'm living with a bunch of morons." moaned Lance.

* * *

At school, Lance found Terrance and Kine high fifing each other. "What did you guys do?" asked Lance, already knowing something was up. Both Brotherhood members smiled. "We both got dates to the dance tonight." said Chris. "Jessica Lucas and Mary Shannon." said Kine. "Wait a minute, aren't those two dating football jocks?" said Lance.

"They were." chuckled Kine. "Until a tape of the jocks making out with some cheerleaders found it's way into their lockers." snickered Chris. "Did you make them do it Kine?" demanded Lance. "Please, we just stalked and videotaped them. They're the ones who were doing all the action." chuckled Kine.

"Oh look." said Chris, pointing to Kitty who was approaching them. Kine and Chris then started singing their own version of Here Comes The Bride. "Here comes the Kitty. Sweet, little, and pretty. She's gonna ask Lance. If he'll go to the dance." they sang. Lance tried to hit them but they ran off laughing.

Meanwhile, John was finishing up grabbing stuff out of his locker when Pietro zoomed up to him. "Stealing my love spells are we?" growled Pietro. "I was just trying to get a little extra advantage." said John.

"Hey, let's get one thing clear Crocodile Dundee. I'm the chick magnet around her. Hands off my magic accessories from now." demanded Pietro. He then looked over Pyro's shoulder, noticing something. John turned as well and noticed Amara talking with Tabitha.

"Oh, looks like the Nova Roma princess doesn't have a date yet. Maybe I'll ask her to the dance." said Pietro. Suddenly, John grabbed him and shoved him into John's open locker. He shut the door and locked it. "Hey, let me outta here! I was just kidding John!" yelled Pietro, banging on the door.

His cries were ignored as John headed off towards Amara and Tabitha. "Good day Sheilas." John said.

"Hey John." said Amara. "I'm going to go say hi to speedy." said Tabitha, who saw everything that happened with Pietro and John.

"So, you ready for the dance?" asked John. "Sort of, I know what I want to wear but I haven't asked anybody to go with." said Amara. "Oh, I see." said John, knowing that it was tradition that the girls ask the guys to this dance.

"So, you'll pick me up at six tonight?" asked Amara. "Huh?...I mean of course I will." said John, quickly picking up what she meant. "Great, I'll see tonight." said Amara, heading off to class. "YES!" John yelled out loud.

Meanwhile, Tabitha was currently having fun at Pietro's expense. "So you promise to dance with me, get me a new dress to wear tonight, and get me earnings that match." she said, listing off her demands to let him out of the locker.

"Okay, you've got a deal. Now let me outta here." grumbled Pietro. "Alrighty." said Tabitha, creating an energy bomb in her hand. He place on the lock and steps back. It explodes and Pietro come rolling out screaming.

"See ya tonight speedy." said Tabitha before leaving. Pietro got to his feet. "That babe is crazy." said Pietro. A smile formed on his face. "But I like that." he said before zooming off.

* * *

Kurt never felt so lucky in his life. Not only was Forge and Xavier working on improving his teleportation abilities but now Amanda's going with him to the dance. This was turning out to be his week.

"Hey." said a voice behind him. Kurt turned to see a student about his age and height. "Kurt right?" he asked. "Yes, do I know you?" asked Kurt. "Doubt it, I just got into town last night. Name's Marcus." he said.

"Uh hi. You said you're new town." said Kurt. "Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me out. You see I don't know anybody here and…" said Marcus. "Say no more my friend. How about I show you around?" asked Kurt. "Thanks man." replied Marcus.

* * *

"There's no one I want to go with but I'd still like to go." Risty told Rogue, hoping she'd tag along. "You know, it may be fun." sighed Rogue. "That's the spirit." replied Risty before the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

Risty and Rogue split, walking by Kurt and Marcus. Marcus eyed Risty for a moment. "Listen, I've gotta split. It was nice meeting you." Marcus told Kurt. "Yeah, nice meeting you too." said Kurt.

* * *

Risty was walking by the women's bathroom when suddenly Marcus grabbed her from behind and shoved her inside. Marcus pinned her against the wall, holding her by the wrists.

"What are you…Let me go?!" yelled Risty. "Is that anyway to treat your lover Raven?" smiled Marcus who shape shifted into Azazel. Risty gasped. "You…But how?"

Azazel laughed. "You can dispense with the disguise Mystique. I can see through your deceptions as clear as daylight." he said. Risty morphed into Mystique. Azazel finally released her. "What are you doing here? I told you I never wanted to see you again." growled Mystique.

"I'm actually not here for you. I'm here for my boy." Azazel said. He smiled at her reaction. "Ah, you didn't think I'd find out did you? And I've also learned what a great and caring mother you were." He continued, mocking her.

"Shut up." Mystique growled. "It wasn't enough that you let Magneto experiment on him but you also dropped him into a river to die." taunted Azazel. "I didn't know what that maniac was going to do!" yelled Mystique. "Oh you knew, you just didn't want to believe it or perhaps you just didn't care." chuckled Azazel.

Mystique lunged forward but Azazel simply backhanded her in mid-air, sending her flying into the wall. "I have great plans for the boy so keep your claws away from him Raven. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with some friends of mine." Azazel said before teleporting away.

(HAHAHAHAHA! Another dreaded cliffhanger. Instead of doing a preview of next chapter, I've decided to give some hints as to what will happen to the end of the season. Kurt is torn between his father and the X-Men. The Stepford Cuckoos take control of the majority X-Men and Brotherhood members with Jean and Chris the only two who can save the day. Also, Avalanche's mother shows up seeking revenge against Charles Xavier. Plus Wanda and Sentinels, oh my. If you think my version of season two is good, wait until you read season three.)


	17. Shadowdance part 2

(Hello folks. I'm sorry I haven't updated in the past few days but it's been kinda crazy for me. Anyways, I am really proud of this chapter. I got stuck on it for a while but my recent rewrite made me very happy. And I glad you like my suggestion rogue-scholar 07. I can't wait to see what you write next.)

"You've actually been to Germany?" said Kurt. "Yeah, it was only for a few weeks but I loved it." said Marcus. "Man, people can barely find Germany on a map here. Let alone been there." said Kurt. "That's our American education system." chuckled Marcus. Both of them laughed.

"Well, I've got to be going. You coming to the party tonight?" asked Kurt. "Yeah, I wouldn't miss a chance to dance with some girls." replied Marcus. "Alright, see you tonight." said Kurt.

Kurt headed off towards Summer's car when he bumped into Risty. "Stay away from him." she said. "Huh?" asked Kurt. "Trust me, there's something not right about him." Risty said before leaving. Kurt stood there all alone and confused.

* * *

"You sure you're not going to ask anyone?" asked Kitty. "Forget it Kitty, I'm not going to a dance with anybody here. Bobby and all the new mutants are more annoying then the Brotherhood." said Lorna. The two were talking while Kurt was being hooked up with Logan for a second trip into the Brimstone dimension. Or at least, that's what Forge called it. The others preferred to call it ugly stinkin last place I'll ever pick for a vacation spot.

"What about Spyke?" asked Kitty as Kurt and Wolverine disappeared. "Would you go with him to the dance?" asked Lorna. "Point taken." said Kitty. It didn't take long before Logan reported in from the school. Apparently, those dinosaur looking things weren't very friendly and know Kurt's been mentally scarred for life.

* * *

"YOU INCOMPETENT GNATS!" yelled Azazel as he smashed one of his underlings against the wall. He had just returned to the Brimstone Dimension and wasn't too happy about his troops letting the creatures attack his son, the only way for their people to escape this prison.

"Forgive me my lord. I won't make that mistake again." begged the underling. "Just get the troops ready. Once I ensure my son's loyalties, we can begin the invasion. Now go see to it!" yelled Azazel, tossing him aside. "Tonight is when we strike." Azazel said before teleporting away.

* * *

The big moment had arrived and the dance was underway. All the Brotherhood and X-Men were dressed for the occasion (though some were better dressed then others…Sorry Toad.) Lance was dancing with Kitty. John was dancing with Amara. Pietro sometimes danced with Tabby then the two would found someone else to dance with then go back to each other. Scott was dancing with Taryn. Jean wasn't dancing with anybody (that's Duncan for ya.) Kine and Terrance were dancing with their respective dates (much to the dismay of the jocks.) Fred was hanging around the dining table grabbing as much food as he could while Toad was stealing some jock's wallets. And last but not least, Kurt and Amanda were dancing together.

While Amanda went to get a drink, Kurt bumped into Marcus. "Hey man, enjoying yourself?" asked Marcus. "Yeah, I feel like a dork though. Getting a rash just before the dance." said Kurt, indicating the gloves on his hands to prevent Amanda from feeling him.

"Don't want her to feel the fur?" asked Marcus. That last comment caught Kurt completely by surprise. "What?...I mean uhh…I don't know what you're talking about." said Kurt.

"It's alright Kurt, I know everything. From your wonderful tail to your teleportation ability." said Marcus. He glanced around to make sure no one was looking. "Meet me by the Principal's office in ten minutes. I'll explain everything." Marcus said before teleporting away. Kurt gasped as the sight, of course no one else saw it.

"Hey Red, feeling lonely?" mocked Pietro. "Go away Pietro." growled Jean. "Your loss." Pietro said before heading over to another girl and started flirting with her. "Ahhhh, Duncan dumped ya? I didn't realize he was that smart." Static chuckled as he walked by.

Jean as you can imagine was getting angrier by the minute. That's when Kurt quickly grabbed her and pulled her aside. "Jean, we have a problem. Remember Marcus, that new kid?" asked a frantic Kurt. "Yeah. Kurt, what is with you?" asked Jean.

"Long story short, he's a mutant. A teleporter like me and he just used his powers. We're lucky no one saw him." said Kurt. "As if this night wasn't bad enough." moaned Jean. "I would have gotten Scott but he seems a bit preoccupied." said Kurt, pointing to Scott and Taryn dancing. He also swore that Jean growled when she saw it.

"How about we take care of this okay?" said a steemed Jean. Kurt was starting to think he should have gotten somebody else to help him.

* * *

Risty found Rogue wondering the halls. "Ah, there you are." said Rogue. "Rogue, did you see Marcus here?" asked a worried. "Who?" asked Rogue. "The new guy that Kurt was hanging out with earlier." said Risty.

"Oh him. What about him?" asked Rogue. "He's bad news, we need to get Kurt out of here." said Risty. "Now is that anyway to talk about me love?" asked Rogue with a smile.

Rogue suddenly hit Risty in the chest, sending her flying into the wall. Risty shapeshifted back into Mystique's normal form and Rogue shapeshifted into Azazel.

"What the…?" said a shocked Mystique. "You're not the only shapeshifter." chuckled Azazel. "What did you do with Rogue?" demanded Mystique, getting to her feet.

"I gave her the night off…in a closet. Don't worry, she'll just wake up with a headache probably in a few hours." said Azazel. "What do you want?" growled Mystique.

Azazel grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up with one hand. "I'm putting together a family reunion and your appearance is mandatory." he replied.

* * *

Kurt and Jean arrived near the Principal's office but they didn't see Marcus anywhere. "Where is he?" wondered Kurt. The two heard a BAMF sound behind them, the same sound that Kurt gives off when teleporting. They turned to see Mystique lying on the ground, regaining consciousness.

"Mystique?" said a confused Kurt. "AHHH!" yelled Jean beside him who fell to the ground unconscious. Standing behind her was Marcus. "Sorry but this is a family meeting." Marcus said to Jean's unconscious body.

"Marcus? What did you do that for?" demanded Kurt. "Because it's time for answers Kurt. Time for you to be told the truth, something that Xavier decided to hold back from you all this time along with his pawn." said Marcus, indicating Jean.

"All these years you've been wondering what happened to you? Well I have those answers. I've learned everything and I believe that it's only fair that you know the truth son." Marcus said before transforming into his Azazel form.

Kurt gasped upon seeing this but he instantly recognized the tail, it was the same kind that he had. Azazel turned to Mystique who had just gotten to her feet. "Tell him the truth or I will." he glared. Mystique sighed. "Kurt, this is…your father." she said. Kurt was too stunned to say anything.

* * *

At the Xavier Institute, Forge was finishing packing up his equipment in the Danger Room Control Room. Xavier and Logan were talking with a visiting Warren Worthington.

"And I realize that the repairs to your building do cost a lot of money." said Warren. "They do and they happen almost on a regular basis with all these nutjobs we have living here." grumbled Logan.

"But I'm hoping that you would participate in a fundraiser with my family. It's for children with minimal health care. Now we're raising a great amount but what this fund really is recognition. And I know you have some friends in Congress and the Senate who could help out." explained Warren.

"I see. Of course Warren, I would be happy to help out." said Xavier. Then Forge noticed something in the Danger Room. "What's that?" he asked out loud. The others looked down as well and noticed a red energy rift that was growing in size.

Suddenly, three of the red dinosaur creatures came through the rift followed by two demonic looking humanoids. Warren gasped upon seeing them. "Oh no, not them." he said.

* * *

"My name is Azazel and I was born about a thousand years ago. I was one of a group of mutants called the Neyaphem. We were born looking like what humans called demons and so they hunted us for it. Eventually, our people rallied together and fought back against the humans. The humans were no match against our power. It wasn't until the Cheyarafirm got involved that everything changed. They didn't like us fighting back against the humans. Of course, the humans never attacked them since they all looked like angels. Our two races fought each other until we were both driven near extinction. Then the Cheyarafirm managed to gain the upper hand and I lead my people through a rift into what you call the Brimstone dimension. The Neyaphem who created the rift died and we were trapped through for a long time. But I wasn't bound to that prison. I was able to transport myself not just through across distances but also to other dimensions. The Ceyarafirm are gone, extinct. But we still needed a way to get back to our real home and now we have." said Azazel.

"I am not able to transport anything else with me when I teleport into a different dimension. But you can, you can create rifts that others can travel through. Though, your powers shouldn't be this great already." continued Azazel.

"What do you mean?" demanded Kurt, still having trouble taking this all in. "I met your mother back in Germany about sixteen years ago. What I saw in her back then I will never know." said Azazel, glaring at Mystique. She returned the same death look.

"But she began working for Magneto soon after you were born. You were normal at first. But when Magneto learned of your origin from Mystique, he was intrigued. He knew of the power that the Neyaphem once held and thought it would make the perfect soldier. So he experimented on you and transformed you into what you are today." said Azazel.

"WHAT?!!!" yelled an angry Kurt, glaring at his mother. "How could you let him do that to me?" growled Kurt. "Kurt please, I didn't know. When I found out what he did, I tried to take you away. But Magneto chased me down and I dropped you into a river. I don't know how but somehow, you survived." said Mystique.

"That would be my doing. I was watching Mystique at the time and when I saw you I knew you were my son. I dove into the river and saved you. Then I took you to a home filled with a man and his wife, the Wagners. I knew they would take care of you and now you are ready to your place at my side when the Neyaphem resume their rightful places as rulers over the humans and this planet." said Azazel.

"But I thought you said that…Forge's device." said Kurt, realizing everything. "Yes, those rifts you created can now be used to bring our people home." smiled Azazel.

(I know I know, you were probably expecting the conclusion but I need to fix a few things in the final chapter. It shouldn't be long though so don't be surprised if I update by tomorrow. And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated.)


	18. Shadowdance part 3

(Time for the conclusion of Shadowdance. I would have updated sooner but it's been a crazy past few days for me. Please review and any ideas you have for improving this fic would be greatly appreciated. And now with the story.)

Back at the gymnasium, everybody was still having a good time. Some more then others. Kine used his powers to cause Summers to trip and drag himself and Taryn down to the ground.

Meanwhile, John and Amara were talking in the corner. "So you don't mind dancing with a peasant?" asked John, referring to Amara's status as Princess of Nova Roma. "Are you kidding me? This is has been great. I hated being back home. My parents were nice but I was stuck inside the royal palace all day. You have no idea how nice it is just to be able to walk down the streets here." said Amara.

Lance and Kitty were on the dance floor. "See being with me hasn't been so bad has it?" asked Lance. Kitty had to admit, being with a so called "evil" Brotherhood member has been really good. She lost her train of thought when a bright light appeared in between her and Lance.

"What the…?" Kitty didn't have time to finish speaking before a group of red reptilian monsters jumped through the portal followed by two demonic looking humanoids. Everybody was running around panicking, with Duncan and his friends the first ones out the door.

The Neyaphem directed their pets to attack the humans. Summers blasted a few of them with his optic rays. The masters weren't so easy. Flying on wings in the air, they fired energy rays from their hands.

Spyke fired several spikes at them but the demons just shoot them before they hit. "Typical Daniels, always the most useless power in a situation." chuckled Pietro. With that said, Quicksilver dashed underneath the demons and started a cyclone.

The demons were sucked into it and flung out all over the room. "Now that's how it's done." said Pietro, with his head held high. That's when the Neyaphem all got to their feet and they did not look happy. Pietro gulped when they flew into the air again.

"Those stupid things just ruined my date." growled John as he summoned multiple dragons made of fire and hurled them forward. The demons screamed at the beings of flame chased them around the gymnasium.

Then seven more demons came through the rift. Summers managed to blast a few of them but three more came through. "We've got to find someway to block them." he said, avoiding various energy blasts.

"I'll take care of it." said Alvers. He summoned a seismic tremor that caused the gymnasium scoreboard to fall down the rift. "Unbelievable, that's the second time he's dropped that thing." mumbled Spyke. Amara and John managed to corner the remaining demons with their flames.

Forge, Xavier, Wolverine, and Angel ran inside. "Stand back folks." said Forge, holding a dimensional device (I don't what else to call it.) He activated the device which encased the demons in an energy bubble then disappear.

"There, they're back in their own dimension." said Forge. "Wait a minute, how would you know how to get rid of them so fast?" demanded Pietro. "Uhh, that's kind of our fault." said Forge. John glared at him. "Start talking technogeek." he said.

"Conquer humanity?" gasped Kurt. "Of course son. Our species was always meant to rule over those pathetic creatures. If anything, we'll be doing them a favor." replied Azazel. "How? But enslaving?!" yelled Kurt.

"No, showing them how things really should be. If there's one thing I've learned from my trips into this dimension, it's that humanity doesn't know what it's doing. Why is it that makes humanity so great? It's culture? They're a war-mongering barbaric race. Billions are spent to create new ways to kill a human being and yet practically nothing is spent to help the poor and sick. Millions are given to people who make entertainment like movies while chump change is given to people who risk their lives everyday to make everyone's else lives more convenient. People are told everyone is created equal. That is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. The rich influence the politicians who are nothing more then members of the rich who have been elected. They appease the masses with their fancy speeches and beautiful lies. Yet, they are more concerned with their own interests rather then the interests of those who elected them. And do you know what also makes humanity happy? It's flaws. They say that our flaws make us human but no one seems to realize that flaws are mistakes and yet mankind relishes it's mistakes as part of it's identity. And don't get me started on the environmental damage they've caused. If humanity keeps as the rate it's going, the Brimstone dimension will look better then this planet. Don't you see son? In the end, we will be truly helping them. And they need it because they don't even know how to help each other." said Azazel.

Jeans moaned and started to regain consciousness. Mystique turned and ran out. Azazel stared as she left but did nothing to stop her. "I realize I haven't been there for you Kurt and I am sorry for that. But together we can create a brighter future for our people and humanity." said Azazel.

"Join me Kurt, return with me to your people. They won't reject you like humanity does. Or have you forgotten how that village tried to burn you at a steak?" asked Azazel. Kurt was torn. He knew not everyone was like those villagers. On the other hand, he remembered that look of hatred in the eyes of those who wanted to burn him.

Suddenly, Azazel was hurled into the wall and held in place by some unseen force. "Don't listen to him Kurt." said Jean, concentrating. Azazel laughed. "Fancy little trick but mine are better." he said. He disappeared in a flash of light. He popped up beside and sent her flying away with a backhand.

"No stop it, both of you." cried Kurt. "It's too late for her Kurt. She's been brainwashed into believing humanity is good. Xavier may talk fancy but in the end, he's nothing more then a delusional old cripple. And those who follow him are equally as delusional." said Azazel.

"Kurt?" said Amanda who just entered the hallway. She gasped upon seeing Azazel. The demonic being smiled. "If you need more proof of humanity's acceptance, say no more." he said. He suddenly lunged at Kurt's holographic watch and pulled it off his arm.

"NOO! What are you doing?" yelled Kurt as his holographic appearance faded and he stood there now as his normal blue self. Azazel expected Amanda to panic and freak out. But she did the one thing he least expected, she didn't panic at all.

"Kurt, I…already knew about what you look like." admitted Amanda. That caught both Kurt and his father by surprise.

"Alright all we have to do is find the rest of those creatures, send them back to their dimensions, and close the rifts." said Forge to the others. Amara had to stay in the gymnasium with John to help calm him down after he learned that the X-Men was responsible for ruining his date.

Pietro took off, saying this mess was their problem. The X-Men headed into Forge's old lab to see a very unexpected thing. There stood Kine and Terrance filming about ten Brimstone dinosaurs doing the Thriller dance.

"What in the world?" said Scott. "Please tell me your filming this Chris." said Kine, who was concentrating. "I am. Who knew you could control animals as well as people?" said Chris, filming the whole thing.

Forge used his device to make the creatures disappear. "Hey! We weren't finished yet." growled Chris. "Can't you idiots quite goofing off for once in your lives?!" yelled Scott. "Hey, leave 'em alone." said Lance. "We'll quite goofing off, when you pull your head out of Xavier's…" said Kine before Chris interrupted him.

"No foul language man, we are still filming man." said Chris. Summers looked like he was ready to shoot them when Wolverine and Angel pulled him away. "Let's go shades." said Logan. "Face it Summers, your relations with baldy's read end is the only reason you're in charge of the X-Men." laughed Chris.

Now Logan and Warren had to drag Summers out of the room as Chris and Kine busted up laughing. "Alright, that's the last of the rifts. We still need to check around the building to make sure all those things are gone." said Wolverine. A closet nearby opened up and to everyone's surprise, Rogue stepped out. "Uhhhhh…my head." she moaned.

"Hello everyone." said Fred as he walked in holding two creatures in a headlock, one on each hand. "I want you to meet my new friends. Harry and Larry. Say hello guys." said Fred. The creatures roared. "They're a little mean to new people." continued Fred.

"You knew what I looked like this whole time? Why didn't you tell me?" asked Kurt. "I tried to back at the dance. But I could tell you weren't comfortable talking about it so I decided to drop it then." said Amanda. "Let me get this clear? You knew what he looked like and you still liked him?" said a stunned Azazel.

"What can I say? Blue is my favorite color. Besides, he's the nicest and most caring individual I've ever met. What's not to like about him?" said Amanda. Kurt smiled the way he's never smiled before. It was one thing to be accepted by his stepparents and the X-Men but a regular human accepted him for who and what he was.

Kurt turned back to his father. "You see? Not all humans are bad." said Kurt. "No, just ninety-nine percent. One person is a miracle itself but the masses will never accept you Kurt. I saw all before a thousand years ago, it was the humans who started the war against. Seeking to exterminate us simply for existing. And they haven't change at all over the centuries. Just you wait, they will hate you, fear you, and despise you and nothing you do will ever change that because humanity will never change." said Azazel.

"See ya bub." a voice behind him. Azazel turned to see Wolverine and the X-Men all standing there. Forge activated his device and Azazel was encased in an energy bubble before disappearing. "That's the last of 'em." said Forge.

"No wait, that won't…" Kurt tried to warn them before Azazel reappeared next to Forge. Within a split second, he grabbed the dimensional device in Forge's hands and smashed it over Forge's head.

Forge dropped to the ground unconscious and bleeding. Scott tried to shoot him but Azazel disappeared. He constantly teleported back and forth around each X-Men, knocking them around before they were able to react.

Within ten seconds, every X-Men was down and Azazel stood unharmed by himself. "I have a thousand years of combat experience you fools." laughed Azazel. "Then defend against this." said Xavier, who just arrived.

He sent a psychic blast at Azazel. The demonic being staggered but managed to put up a powerful mental shield, one that Xavier had difficulty getting through. "Your powers are impressive Xavier but you're not the first telepath I've faced." said Azazel.

Azazel fired an energy blast at Charles but his aim was off due to the telepath's psychic assault. The blast did hit Charle's wheelchair which knocked him to the ground. "End of the line." said Azazel, powering up for another shot.

Suddenly, Kurt hit him from behind knocking Azazel to the ground. "What are you?!" yelled Azazel. "Choosing sides father. I will never be like you." said Kurt. He tried to hit Azazel again but his father easily blocked him and tossed him aside.

"You would betray your own flesh and blood for these delusional old man and his followers?!" yelled Azazel. "You say mankind is nothing but a warmongering barbaric race but what about our own people father? You entered this dimension only to conquer and kill. And you think humans are worse then you?" growled Kurt.

Azazel was so concentrating on Kurt that he didn't notice Angel leaping at him at him from behind with a bleeding palm. Azazel easily catches Angel who grabs Azazel by the face with the hand that was cut. Suddenly, Azazel screamed in pain.

He dropped Angel and staggered back, his face smoking as if burned. "Impossible, you are…" said Azazel. "Cheyarafirm, on my mother's side." said Angel. The X-Men all got to their feet and readied to attack Azazel once more. "And my blood is toxic for your kind." continued Angel.

"You'll see I was right Kurt, YOU'LL SEE!" yelled Azazel as he teleported away, this time not returning. "Okay, time out. What just happened?" asked Rogue.

Back at the Xavier Institute, everyone was sitting in the living room where Warren was explaining everything to them. "The Cheyarfirm were nearly extinct after driving the Neyaphem from this world. So they began to interbreed with humans until they were all gone. Occasionally, a few of their descendants will grow wings like they do and contain the same type of rare blood type that the Neyaphem are allergic to." explained Warren.

"So without those rifts the elf made, those guys are stuck permanently in lava land." said Logan. "All except Azazel, he can still travel back and forth to his dimension and our own at will." said Warren. "Yeah well without his army, what can he possibly do?" asked Bobby.

"You saw how powerful he was, even the professor couldn't beat him." said Jean. "And as long as Kurt's the only thing that can open those rifts again, Ah doubt he's just going to stay away." said Rogue.

Hank walked into the room. "Well, Forge is going to be okay. He suffered only a concussion." said Hank. "That's good to know." said Xavier. "What gets to me is how powerful he was. I mean we train to be ready for anything and we barely managed to beat him." said Scott.

"First Magneto then Shadow King, now this guy. Makes you wonder just how many powerful megalomaniac mutants there are." said Jean. "I'm afraid we won't ever be able to know that but we must be prepared to face them because if we won't, who will?" said Storm.

The others all agreed. "I should have to gone to that party. It was so boring guarding the Institute." grumbled Lorna, who wasn't at the school when the X-Men mopped up the demonic invaders.

"Maybe you'll get a chance to go a different party, after all with Alex coming to visit next week." said Kitty. "What?! I only told the Professor about that. Where you spying on me again?!" yelled Scott.

"Hey, did you guys here that? It must be my muffins." said Kitty very quickly as she took off out of the room. "She was kidding about those muffins right?" asked Bobby.

Then they all smelled the air. "Okay, they're done!" yelled Kitty from the kitchen. "I need to get back home." Warren said quickly before flying off. "I need to take a midnight drive." said Logan, running out. "I need to go do…something in my lab." said Beast, also leaving. "I shall join you." said Xavier, following him.

"Quick, let's all go out to get some ice cream or something before she comes back." said Kurt. They all ran out of the room just before Kitty walked in with a tray of muffins. "Hey guys! Where'd you go?" Kitty wondered.

(That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed it. My funny bone has returned and next chapter will be about Terrance and Kine. I haven't done a lot with them and I think it's about time that changed. The two of them get a camera and decide to do someone similar to what Spyke did in Season one. They do a documentary on their lives, and drive Bayville insane at the same time.)


	19. A Day in the Life of Pusher and Static

(Just a goofy little chapter of Pusher and Static. I haven't used them a lot so I decided it was time to do a chapter specifically about them. Hope you enjoy it and please review.)

"Greetings surfers of the web. My name is Benedict Kine better known as Pusher. And no, I will not listen to any Benedict Arnold jokes. I am a mutant and a proud one at that." said Kine, talking into the camera that Terrance was holding.

"I'm not exactly sure when this will be released because it's going on YouTube the day the world knows about mutants. It could twenty years from now or it could be twenty minutes. The point is…Chris what are you doing?!" said Kine just before Chris turned the camera and zoomed in on several blond cheerleaders.

"What?" Chris asked innocently as he turned the camera back to Kine. "Don't mind my moronic cameraman folks. His name is just Christopher Terrance or Static as he is sometimes referred to. Anyways, the two of us have decided to do a documentary to show you just how life is like for us mutants hiding among you. Sit back and enjoy A Day In The Life." announced Kine.

The camera cuts now to Chris and Kine walking down a school hallway holding clipboards and pencils.

"Right now the second semester has just ended. We are now about to embark on a scientific experiment to determine just how gullible each school cliché is." said Chris. "And here is our first test subject." said Kine as they approached Kitty.

"What's new pussycat?" asked Chris. "Besides manipulating Lance into becoming your mindless love slave." said Kine. "What's with the camera?" asked Kitty. "We're just doing a little documentary about ourselves. And this ladies and gentleman is that annoying valley girl that has Lance wrapped around her finger like a bad marriage." said Chris.

"What did you say?" growled Kitty. "Just making conversation. Oh by the way, what's with the zit?" asked Chris. "Man, it is huge." said Kine. Kitty gasped and started feeling her face (Of course, she didn't have any large zit on it.). "Your lying." she grunted, panicking.

"Man, that thing is monstrous. Like a Zitzilla." said Chris. Kitty quickly ran to the bathroom, nearly screaming as she ran. Chris and Kine pulled out their clipboards and started writing. "From what we've observed, clueless valley girl types are extremely gullible." said Kine. "I concur with your findings." replied Chris, talking like a German scientist.

"Now let us continue with another subject and there she is right now." said Kine, indicating Jean. They walked up to her, much to her annoyance. "Greetings red, did the teachers finally build a new dog house for you?" asked Chris. (Okay, that was a cheesy teacher's pet joke.)

"Go away." grumbled Jean. "Alright…Oh my goodness, what were you thinking coming to school with a zit that big?" asked Kine. Jean instantly starts feeling her face, panicking. "What? Where?" she yelped. "Man Red, when you make something you sure go all the way don't ya?" chuckled Chris.

Jean screamed and ran towards the girls' room. Chris and Kine begin writing on their clipboards again. "Rich snobby teacher's pets are also extremely gullible." concluded Kine. "No wonder Paris Hilton can't have a real boyfriend." remarked Chris.

"Alright now for our last cliché, anti-social Gothic vampires." said Kine as they headed towards Rogue. "Greetings Countess of Unhappiness. Still thinking about the day when you can finally touch someone which will never happen by the way." said Kine.

"I'm gonna be happy when Ah start breaking some of ya'll bones." said Rogue, cracking her knuckles. "Relax Count Chocula, we were just leaving. Oh by the way, that zit actually matches your skin pretty well." said Chris.

Rogue's eyes narrow, not believing them. "Honestly, no one told you you had Godzilla growing on your face?" asked Kine. "Get lost ya losers before I start ripping body parts off ya'll." growled Rogue. "Hey now, Lost is just a television show and we are far better looking then Josh Holloway." chuckled Chris as they walked off.

"I've concluded that anti-social Gothic vampires are actually more intelligent then any other school cliché." said Kine. "I must concur. Well, that's it for our experiment. Sighing off now." said Chris.

The camera now cuts to footage of Chris and Kine sitting outside eating lunch. "We are currently consuming the disgusting filth the school considers food. And this food is processed and produced by the lowest bidder. Doesn't that just make me feel special." grunted Chris.

"Yeah, Toad doesn't even eat this crap. Only Blob does but I guess that's okay since he's a human garbage disposal." said Kine. "And speaking of human garbage, here comes Robert Kelly. Normally a person of his position should be called Principal Kelly but since we don't have any respect for him, Robert will have to do." said Chris.

Then the two noticed a flock of birds nearby. "Hey Kine, could you umm…" Chris said before leaning closer and whispering something into Kine's ear.

Kine's eyes lite up and he smiled. "I've never actually tried to make someone do a thing like that before but I'll try." he said. He then concentrated and caused the birds to fly over Kelly. The poor principal then got rained on by bird poop. He screamed while Kine and Terrance busted up laughing.

"And that's folks is a lesson in Anatomy 101. What goes in must come out." laughed Chris. The laughing ended when they were approached by Scott and Evan. "Alright that's enough you morons." said Scott. "Enough of what? We were just laughing at how you look." snickered Chris.

"Yeah, hey Evan maybe if you start dying your hair a different color each week we can call you Dennis Rodman. That yellow hair already reminds me of him when I look at you." said Kine.

"I'm warning you. If you cause any more trouble…" growled Summers before Kine interrupted him. "You'll do nothing. It's what you are. The X-Men are all talk and no show. They claim to accept anyone regardless of who they and what they believe but when we decide we don't want to follow your rules, you resort to threats to try and intimidate us." replied Kine.

"Who appointed Charlie boy as the supreme ruler of mutants? I'll tell you who, himself. He apparently decides what mutants can and cannot do like a self appointed god. Maybe he thinks he can do this because he's richer then anybody else or maybe because he has pawns willing to do whatever he wants them to do. Either way, the fact that he thinks that every mutant should follow him command only shows how egotistical this guy is. The guy can be summed in one words: Megalomaniac." said Chris.

"That is not true. The professor only wants to help them. Even you losers." said Evan. "So how exactly was he trying to help Toad when he had Storm blast him with lightning for no good reason?" asked Kine.

"He was trespassing for starters and it was only…" said Scott. "A test? What is he now, Dr. Frankenstein? Some mad scientist?" interrupted Chris. "Nah, he's more like a cult leader. If you think about, cults are secretive, don't let anyone know what goes on with them, only accept certain people, and think they are better then anybody else in the world." (I hope I don't offend anybody's religion from this. If I did, I apologize).

"And they have secret ceremonies called Danger Room sessions." snickered Chris. "The Professor isn't some megalomaniac…What I am doing trying to reason with your morons?" Scott growled. "Yeah, you should leave. You'll be late for your appointment with Xavier's butt cheeks." laughed Kine.

Scott tackled Kine and Evan attacked Chris. No powers, just fists. It wasn't long before they were broken up by several teachers. "What's going on here? What happened?" demanded Mr. Sherman.

"They started it." said Kine. "No we didn't." said Evan. "Don't lie to me son. I saw the two of you (pointing to Evan and Scott) approaching them. And you were the ones who threw the first punch. Now, I want to know why you people decided to start attacking each other?" demanded Mrs. Howard.

"Uhhh…" stuttered Scott, knowing he couldn't reveal the truth. "It's because we found out the truth about there little mansion. It's a place for the mentally challenged." said Kine. "Why you little…" growled Evan who was held back by a teacher.

"Think about it. It's called the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters and we all know what "gifted" means." said Chris. "They attacked us because we offended them inadvertently." said Kine.

"Ya see, we were telling them how they shouldn't be hiding what they are. That they should let others know about themselves and not be ashamed. We told them that others would accept them for who they are and they wouldn't have to hide in shame." said Chris, getting a kick out of this.

"Apparently, they were very still very ashamed and somewhat touchy. I mean, you've seen the results of what happens when you bring it up." continued Chris. "I see. Scott, why didn't your guardian inform us about this?" asked Mr. Sherman.

"You actually believe him?!" gasped Summers. "First off Summers, I've always wondered what was going on in that mansion of yours. Always so secretive and Mr. Xavier would never tell me or anyone here just what exactly it was for. He just said for gifted youngsters. I must say, I am really disappointed in him. He should have told us so we could work better with you and everyone else at the Institute. Come on, we need to have a talk with him." said Mr. Sherman, leading Scott and Evan away.

Chris and Kine busted up laughing when they were out of sight. "Institute for the "gifted" alright." chuckled Chris. "And that folks is how you deal with anal retentive butt kissers and brainless porcupines. This is Christopher Terrance and Benedict Kine signing off." said Kine.

(Ironic that Chris and Kine tells Scott and Evan about how everyone will accept them huh? I thought that was pretty funny. Next chapter, the Stepford Cuckoos arrive in Bayville and start taking control of the X-Men and Brotherhood. Now the only two still free are Static and Jean. Now these two have to save the day without killing each other.)


	20. The Stepford Mutants

(Sorry I didn't update sooner but my life is getting more hectic with each week. I'm doing away with the whole conclusion at each chapter just because I prefer to at least post something every once in a while instead of the long delays in-between chapters. That always bugged me whenever I like a story on Fanfiction and have to wait to see how it ends. So I hope you like this chapter and please comment.)

Pietro sat on a picnic table outside the school, going over his large black book filled with pictures of girls and check marks next to them.

"Went out with her…Her too…Pretty sure I got her number…Didn't call that one back and for good reason…I don't believe it. I'm fairly certain I've been with at least every freshmen girl in my book. And I refuse to add any of those Xavier tramps to my list. What am I to do?" he wondered.

He didn't have to wait long because walking past him was a fifteen year old girl with long golden hair. Pietro was just stunned by her looks. He looked up and said, "Thank you God."

He quickly caught up to the beautiful new comer. "Why hello there. You must be new here because I haven't seen you around and trust me I would have noticed." said Pietro, putting on his charming smile. His target wasn't smitten and just rolled her eyes as she kept walking.

"My name is Pietro Maximoff. Since you're new here, I think it would only be appropriate that I show you around." said Pietro. Now she stopped and turned to face him. "I've got a better idea. How about you meet my sisters?" she suggested.

"Sisters?" wondered Pietro. No sooner did he say this then two girls who looked exactly like his target stepped up next to him. He realized the three girls were triplets. _I'm in heaven_ thought Pietro.

"No, this isn't heaven stud man." said one of the girls. Pietro then realized she somehow knew what he was thinking. But before he could say anything, everything became slow motion as if he was in a dream. He felt so calm and relaxed.

"Now, we want you to tell us everything you know about the Brotherhood and the X-Men." said the Cuckoos sisters.

* * *

Chris was sitting in detention like he usually did, bored. He wasn't really sure why he bothered to come to these at all, it's not like he actually cared about graduating high school. He had more important things to think about, like what special prank to do on the X-Geeks.

He glanced out his window to see Evan grinding on some handrails with his skateboard. Deciding to cause some misery, Chris sent out psy static towards Daniels. The skater held his head, which caused him to lose his balance and fall.

He glared up at the window where Chris looked down at him. Chris waved at him with a guilty smile on his face. Evan growled then suddenly stopped as if in a trance. That's also the moment Chris began sensing telepathic activity. Someone was taking control of Spyke.

A blond-haired girl passed by Evan and looked into his mesmerized eyes. Chris could sense the girl was using telepathy but why he didn't know. Then she simply walked off as if nothing happened. A few seconds later, Evan snapped out of his trance and then started riding his skateboard again as if nothing happened.

"Oh boy, this can't be good." Chris muttered to himself. Lunch detention ended and Chris quickly ran out of the classroom. He quickly checked around for Kine and found him at his locker. "Ben. Am I glad to see you. We've got trouble." said Chris.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kine. "I mean some hot blond chick just went all telepathic on Pietro's favorite porcupine. I don't know what she did but somethin's up." said Chris. "Oh, you mean the Cuckoo sisters. I know them, they're nice. They make a guy want to do his homework." said Kine, pulling out his textbooks.

Chris couldn't believe it, Kine never carried around his books. He never cared about his classes. "Are you alright?" asked a worried Chris. "Of course, those girls told me how I can make them happier and I'm doing it. They said doing my homework was important and I'd do anything for them." said Kine.

"Well, I've gotta run. See ya back at home." said Kine, heading towards his class and leaving a very worried Chris.

* * *

Life has gotten crazy for Jean the past two days. First the Professor heads off to the other side of the country to meet a newly detected mutant, then McCoy disables Cerebro for some modifications and has been working on the updates practically all the time. Logan went off and disappeared for no good reason which he sometimes does which just left Ororo and Jean as the real "adults" of the house.

Scott has been acting like a nosy annoying brother ever since Alex came to visit the Institute. First night here, Alex and Lorna hit it off so to speak and now Scott is always spying on the two of them. Every time those two were alone together, Scott would be watching them from a distance. Jean tried to tell him to it wasn't any of his business but noooooooooooooooo. He just had to act like a noisy brat which left him out of the "responsible" adult department.

Jean was contemplating all of this when she saw something she never expected. The Brotherhood were at their table and they were doing homework. At first, Jean thought she was seeing things but each of them (minus Chris who wasn't there) were all doing their homework.

"Yo Pietro, can you help me answer this math question?" asked Toad. It wasn't just the fact that Toad was actually doing his math homework that shocked Jean but Pietro pulled out his calculator and actually helped the amphibious mutant answer the question and understand it.

Pietro was known for a lot of things but not helping anybody out especially his own housemates with their homework. Fred noticed her and stood up. He walked up to her and did the last thing Jean ever expected, he held out his hand.

"Jean…Uh, I'm sorry. I acted like a jerk and I really shouldn't have kidnapped you. I'm also sorry for all those times I ever attacked you and your friends. It was wrong and I hope you forgive me." said Fred. Jean knew she shouldn't have but she read his mind and couldn't believe the fact that he was actually sincere with his apology.

Fred was silent now, his hand still expecting a shake. Seeing as he was sincere, she shook his hand. He then walked back to the Brotherhood table and went back to his homework.

Jean stood there for a moment in shock before finally heading towards where Kurt, Evan, Kitty, and Rogue were all sitting. "Uhh guys, I think something's wrong with the Brotherhood." said Jean.

"Wrong? Come on Jean, nothing's wrong with them. Look at them, they're being kind now, doing all their work. It's how they should be. Did you know that Toad apologized to me for all the times he slimed my locker? I felt compelled to apologize to him for all the times I've insulted him." said Kurt. Jean couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yeah, Ah mean we owe them a big apology too. If we had treated them like normal people instead thugs, we would have never fought with them in the first place." said Rogue. "I just hope Pietro can forgive me to setting him up just before that basketball he was going to play when I joined the Institute. I mean, I got him kicked out of sports. I feel bad about all that." said Evan.

Now Jean knew there was something wrong here. "Do you people have an idea what you're saying?" asked Jean. "C'mon Jean. We should have given them a chance. All of them, not just Lance. I mean we all had it good with our parents and families but almost all of the Brotherhood were hated or kicked by theirs. We shouldn't be so judgmental." said Kitty.

All four of them nodded in agreement. Jean knew she had to get out of there and quick. "Uhh, I'll see you guys later." said Jean. She quickly went back into the hallway. As soon as she saw Scott, she grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"Jean, what are you…?" he asked but she shushed him. "Scott, something's wrong. I'm not sure what it is but something's happened to everybody else." whispered Jean. "What are you talking about?" asked Scott.

"The Brotherhood were all doing their homework and helping each other do it. And Fred apologized to me for all the things he'd done. I thought it was another one of their stupid pranks so I read his mind." said Jean. She noticed Scott's disapproval look.

"I know, I knew I shouldn't have done it but I did. The thing is he was sincere about it. This is Blob we're talking about. And Evan has been spouting on about making amends with Pietro." continued Jean. That widened Scott's eyes.

"You're kidding me." said Scott. "No, I'm not. And Kurt was talking about how great of a guy Toad was. Not to mention Kitty and Rogue were talking about how we treated all of the Brotherhood terribly." said Jean.

"Okay, you've proven you're point. We better contact Storm and Beast." said Scott. "Alright, I'll check to make sure everybody else isn't affected by whatever this is." said Jean. The two split up.

* * *

Scott was about to reach the pay phone when suddenly his feet were frozen together into large ice cube. He turned to see Bobby, Roberto, and Ray standing there. "What the…What are you guys…?" Scott started to say before Bobby froze his mouth shut.

Roberto and Ray grabbed Scott by the arms and dragged him into the men's locker room. Inside waiting were Lorna, Amara, Jubilee, and Rahne along with three blond triplets. "Hello Scott. My name is Sophie and these are my sisters Phoebe and Mindee." said one of the girls.

"Your teammates were just telling us about you. Now we'd like to do a remodeling inside your mind. Don't worry, it won't hurt." said Mindee. The girls concentrated on Scott's mind, altering his personality and memories to make him loyal to them.

The process didn't take long. "Amara would you please remove the ice off him?" requested Sophie. The Nova Roma princess stepped forward and melted the ice around Scott's mouth and legs.

"It seems that Miss Grey is onto us. We'll have to take care of her first before we can continue." said Mindee. "Don't worry sis, we have plenty of time. Xavier won't be back anytime soon." chuckled Phoebe. "Personally I say we should just fry Miss Perfect's brain. I can't stand people like her." grumbled Sophie.

"Would you all please excuse us? We'll call for you when you're needed." said Phoebe to the X-Men who nodded and left. "Personally I don't like any of them. They're so uptight. I swear I wouldn't be able to stand in the same room with them if it weren't for the improvements we made on them." said Sophie.

"C'mon, not all of them are terrible. What about Lance Alvers?" chuckled Phoebe. The three girl's eyes lite up. "He left his friends and lived with his enemies to stay with the girl he really cared about. If Magneto ever returned, he would never join him because he would never fight against Kitty." said Mindee. "That's love." agreed Sophie. The girls let out happy sighs. "Why can't there be three of him?" wondered Phoebe.

* * *

Jean just finished talking on the pay phone with Storm who said she was on her way there. Now she just had to find Scott and meet up with her. She wondered around the halls looking for him but couldn't find him. That changed when she stepped outside and saw him waiting near the parking lot.

"Scott, were have you been?" asked Jean when she got close. "I met some new friends. I think you should meet them too." he said. Jean heard movement behind her and saw all of the X-Men and Brotherhood (minus Static) standing there with the triplets.

"Time for a much needed makeover princess." grunted Sophie. The three sent psychic blasts at her, causing Jean to drop to her knees. They caught her by surprise but she managed to keep her mental shielding strong thanks to practice with the Professor. The three girls were incredibly powerful but Jean managed to keep her shielding up just long enough to send a telepathic blast as them.

The triplets were hurled back off their feet. "Get her!" they all yelled. Scott was the first to attack her, grabbing her from behind. Jean sent him flying away with simple telekinetic push. She didn't want to hurt anyone but it was obvious they were not themselves.

Lance sent a tremor which knocked Jean off her feet. Kurt teleported beside her and Pietro zoomed up on the other side. The two grabbed her by the arms, holding her. She sent them flying away with telekinesis. But she didn't notice sidewalk guardrail ripped off it's hinges and fly up behind her.

Before she knew, the metal wrapped all around her. Lorna concentrated on her magnetic field, keeping it strong for Jean to use her telepathy to get loose. "Rogue, drain her. Once her powers are gone, we'll be able to alter her memories without any effort." said Mindee.

Rogue took off her glove and approached the trapped Jean. Suddenly, everyone held their heads in pain. Lorna had a massive headache which broke her concentration. Her magnetic field dissipated, allowing Jean to telekinetically extended the metal around her. She slipped out and took off running.

"Be lucky I decided to help you. Into my ride quick." said Chris as he ran up beside. "What's going on?" demanded Jean as they jumped into Chris's car. Chris started the engine and drove as fast as he could out of the parking lot.

"Those three hot chicks back there are telepaths and pretty powerful ones from what I've seen." said Chris. "We've got company." said Jean, sensing Quicksilver approaching. She sent a telekinetic push which the speed demon off his feet and tumbling into ditch. "Something tells me you enjoyed that." smirked Chris.

Suddenly, the car levitated into the air. "Oh great, Lorna." moaned Chris. Sure enough, behind them was Lorna floating in the air. Chris and Jean didn't really need to say what they did next, they just acted on instinct. Chris sent psy static which broke Lorna's concentration.

Jean kept the car floating and sent a telekinetic push which sent Lorna flying into a bunch of trees. "We gotta find a place to hide." said Chris as they levitated back to the ground. "We need to contact Storm and Beast." said Jean.

"I'm sorry but I don't exactly have a phone with me." said Chris, not liking to take orders from an X-Men. "Head for the mall. There's plenty of phones there and we'll be able to hide in a more crowded area." said Jean. "Yes your worship." grumbled Chris.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Cuckoos to alter Storm's mind. They waited until Pietro and Lorna returned. "You know they'll contact Beast and warn him." said Phoebe. "Which means we'll have to accelerate things. We need to take the Xavier Institute now." said Sophie. "You know he wanted everybody." said Mindee.

"We'll get them later, besides they're just a bonus anyways." said Phoebe. The three turned to the X-Men and Brotherhood. "Time for the X-Men to give us a little tour of their happy home." smiled Mindee.

(Things are starting to get interesting in Bayville. Next chapter, Jean and Chris try and find a way to save the day while resisting the urge to strangle one another. And the Cuckoos invade the mansion. Just what exactly are they after? You'll just have to wait and see. I also thought that the Cuckoos having a crush on Lance was funny.)


	21. Progeny

(Now time for the next chapter. Please review, I love feedback.)

Beast was just finishing up the repairs for Cerebro when he heard the twin entrance doors open. He turned, and to his surprise, saw the Scott and Storm standing there with three blond triplets.

"Hi there cookie monster." said one of the girls. "Uhh, Scott who is this?" demanded Beast, knowing they weren't supposed to have any visitors down in the subbasement.

"Don't worry, they're mutants just like us." said Scott. "Does the professor know about this?" asked Beast. Suddenly he was frozen in place as the girls began to telepathically alter his mind. In a few moments, he smiled.

"Well I'm sure he won't mind." Beast said. "Great, I need you to help me access a computer file. Could you help me locate it?" asked Sophie. "I would be happy to my dear." said Beast, bowing his head.

"So charming. If only you were younger." sighed Sophie.

* * *

"How could this have happened? The professor put mental blocks in all of our minds, they shouldn't be able to do what they're doing so easily." said Jean as her and Chris walked through the mall corridors.

"Obviously the incredible wheelchair man is more flash then show." chuckled Chris. Jean glared at him but decided to let it go. They reach a bunch of old pay phone and Jean started putting in some coins. "Okay, why didn't we just go to the Institute in the first place?" asked Chris.

"Simple, we were heading in the wrong direction when we got away at the school. I don't care how fast you can drive, they'll still beat us there." said Jean. Chris kept a lookout in case some of the Cuckoos sent people after them.

"C'mon, pick up Beast." grumbled Jean when no answer came. A guy by the name of Robert passed by Chris, recognizing him from their usual lunch detentions. "Chris…you're hanging out with princess perfect?" said a stunned Robert.

"More like she's hanging out with me. She came to recognize the fact that she is a complete loser and needed help in improving her personality." snickered Chris. Jean swore she would have strangled Chris with the phone cord if he was any closer.

"Just giving her a few pointers, like dumping that loser who keeps trying to hang on her coat tails Scott Summers." said Chris, making sure Jean could hear him. "Wait a minute, I thought she was going out with Duncan." said Robert.

"Nah, she's just using him to increase her popularity. And she's using Scott as a brainless love slave. You know there's a word for a girl who juggles so many men but I'm not going to say it here with so many children nearby." said Chris.

"THAT'S IT!" yelled Jean who slapped Chris in the back of the head. "Oww." grunted Chris. Robert quickly turned and walked away. "Why do you keep doing this?" demanded Jean.

"What? Tormenting you? Because it's fun. I love making people's hell that I don't like. And you are the embodiment of all that I hate, a telepath. And just like all the telepaths I've met, you're arrogant, demanding, think you're more important then everybody else." growled Chris.

"The only one who's arrogant around here is you. You and your friends use your powers care free without thinking anything through. You don't care about anybody but yourselves." Jean threw back.

"Because nobody does care about us. Society threw us to the curve and that's our fault according to your X-snobs who live in royalty. You never had to work a day in your life to get food, water, and any basic necessities of life. You losers wouldn't last two seconds out on the streets." said Chris.

"As much as I'd like to waste more of my life arguing with a moron like you, we have a problem. By now, those girls must have gotten to Beast and Alex and taken control of the mansion." said Jean.

"Then it's time to cut and run." said Chris, starting to walk off. Jean stopped him telekinetically. "And what about the people you call friends? You're just going to leave Kine and the others to rot?" grunted Jean.

"The Brotherhood has been family to me but there's one thing I learned long ago, you have to pick the battles you can win to stay alive. Those blonds got practically all of our teammates doing whatever they want and they've got all your Institute's security systems guarding them now as well. I don't know about you your worship, but that doesn't sound like a winnable battle to me." said Chris.

"Nothing is unbeatable." said Jean, finally releasing him. "Oh, is that another one of baldy's great lessons on life?" mocked Chris. "I know how we can get inside the mansion undetected but first I need to make a call." said Jean.

* * *

Phoebe was happily searching through the Institute, grabbing whatever items she found and giving them to Blob who was her personal baggage carrier. Mindee watched her do this completely bored.

"I'll take this…and this…and this." said Phoebe pointing out things for Blob to grab. "Why don't you don't you just have him take the whole room?" grumbled Mindee. "That's a good idea." said Phoebe. Mindee rolled her eyes then created a telepathic link to Sophie.

_Are you almost done Sophie?_ grumbled Mindee, getting bored. _Almost, Mr. McCoy almost has me past the final layer of coding. Xavier was quite protective of this particular file._ replied Sophie.

_And presto, I have access to the file. I'm copying it now._ continued Sophie. _Good, I'll call the extraction_. remarked Mindee before severing the link. "Time to go sis." said Mindee. "But I want the new PS3 too." said Phoebe. "THEN TAKE IT!" yelled Mindee.

* * *

Jean and Chris waited right next to the waterfall that covered the entrance for the X-Jet Hanger. "Why are we just sitting here?" groaned Chris. "We need backup." said Jean, not bothering to look at him.

"Well if they are as reliable as their timing then we're pretty much screwed." grunted Chris. "Oh ye of little faith." muttered someone behind them. Chris turned to see a woman with long blond hair wearing exotic clothing. It wasn't her clothing that caught his attention but how closely she resembled the triplets.

"I swear, I think I should consider getting myself a room here. You X-Men call for my help so many times I feel like I practically live here." said Emma.

"Chris, meet Emma Frost. Emma, this is Christopher Terrance." said Jean. "The anti-telepath, I know him." said Emma. "Great, another telepath." groaned Chris. "Alright, Emma you said you knew how these girls were probably able to get past the mental blocks." said Jean.

"I wouldn't say they got past the blocks, but worked around them. They probably installed new personalities overtop of the originals. With training, you could be able to do this no matter how powerful a mental block one has." said Frost.

"So how do we get everybody back?" asked Chris. "Simple, with a telepathic sweep I can remove the new personalities and the originals would resume control." replied Emma.

"I doubt the terrible threesome is just going to let you do that." grunted Chris. "That's where you come in Mr. Terrance. Just keep them engulfed in psy static and they won't be able to interfere." said Emma.

"Great." moaned Chris. "Jean, take us inside." said Emma. Jean levitated all three of them inside the waterfall entrance.

* * *

Out in the front lawn, all the X-Men and Brotherhood members were standing around with the triplets waiting. "Why are we just standing here?" asked Alex. "Don't worry, our ride will be here soon enough." said Phoebe.

In the distance, helicopter rutters could be heard. Three V-22 Ospreys came over and the mansion and landed. An entire team of commandos jumped out the chopper and quickly surrounded all the mutants. "That won't be necessary, they'll come willingly. Won't you?" said Mindee, glancing at the other mutants.

They all nodded but the soldiers maintained their aim on all of them. A Colonel stepped out and walked up to the triplets. "Excellent my dears. You performed better then I expected. I'm very proud of all of you." he said. The three girls smiled.

"Do you have the files?" asked the Colonel. Sophie stepped forward and handed a disk to him. "Excellent, come along girls. The soldiers will handle your friends." he replied. Phoebe turned to the X-Men and Brotherhood.

"Go with these people and do exactly as you are told." commanded Phoebe. The mutants all nodded. Suddenly, all of the X-Men and Brotherhood held their heads in pain, screaming. "What's happening?" demanded the Colonel.

The triplets tried to use their telepathy when suddenly they started screaming as well. "Dious cro las parrie." said Phoebe. The soldiers were confused as what to do. The triplets transformed their skin into a diamond hard substance.

It not only hardened their bodies but protected them from telepathy. "Psy static." the triplets said. Suddenly, the screaming from the other mutants stopped. They glanced around and readied themselves for battle. Emma Frost and Jean Grey emerged out of the Institute.

"Payback time." growled Lance, the ground starting to shake.

"Oh crap." muttered the triplets. The X-Men and Brotherhood instantly started attacking the soldiers. Though they were heavily equipped, the commandos never stood a chance. Jean and Kine easily disarmed them by telekinesis or just making the soldiers toss their weapons.

Lance sent tremors that knocked them all down as well as Scott blasting them. Beast, Rogue, and Kitty knocked several of them around via martial arts. John and Amara shot flames at them, causing them to flee.

"Girls." the Colonel glared at the triplets. The three nodded and charged at the X-Men and Brotherhood. The three were incredibly good hand to hand fighters and given their already diamond form, they couldn't really be harmed.

But the girls weren't interested in winning this fight, only buying time for the soldiers to evacuate. Emma charged at them and then stopped, in complete shock when she saw their completely for the first time. The girls stared at her as well, also in shock. The similarities were there, the diamond form mutations, the telepathy, the long blond hair, the faces, everything about them were all the same except their ages.

"Girls! Come!" yelled the Colonel. The triplets turned and ran back to the choppers. The V-22s suddenly started shooting their .50 caliber machine guns at the X-Men and Brotherhood, forcing them all to scatter and take cover. The triplets jumped onboard on of the choppers before they took off.

They stared back down at Emma who was staring up at them. The choppers fly out of sight. "Who were they?" asked Lance. "I…don't know." said Emma, her mind elsewhere.

* * *

Xavier finally got back from his trip with a guest, and he had quite a story to tell them. "When I got back to the airport, the whole place was locked down due to a possible outbreak. I was stuck there for hours before it was announced that the whole thing was a mistake." said Xavier.

"The fact that this happened while those triplets took over the mansion can't be a coincidence." said Beast. "I have to agree. Whoever they were planned this very well. They struck when not only I was out of town but also when Cerebro was offline." said Xavier.

"Why'd Emma leave so quickly?" asked Kitty. "She probably knows something about this." said Scott, not exactly her biggest fan. "Whatever her reasons, they are her own. Right now we have bigger problems. While they were here, they accessed several encrypted files." said Xavier.

"Which files?" asked Jean. "Cerebro's blueprints." said Xavier. The others all shared a concerned look.

* * *

At a top secret location, several prominent military officials were meeting to discuss various potential problems for National Security. Mutants being the number one topic.

"These freaks need to be put down before they become a threat to us!" yelled General Kincaid. "Most mutants don't even have dangerous powers Adolf Hilter." mocked General Munson. Kincaid glared at Munson. "Mutants are not a threat, most of ordinary people." continued Munson.

"Ordinary people can't lift objects with their minds. Ordinary people can't take control of other people's thoughts." replied Kincaid. Suddenly, the Colonel walked inside carrying a folder with him.

"Gentleman, you all know Colonel William Stryker." said Munson. "Generals, mutants are a threat but they are also an opportunity." said Stryker, beginning his prepared speech.

"Think about how powerful some of them. Xavier can control people's minds, Magneto can decimate an entire army, and Cain Marko is virtually unstoppable." continued Stryker.

"Your point?" grumbled Kincaid. "We should be using mutants, not destroying them. Think about the possibilities, some mutants have healing abilities that could virtually cure all known diseases, heal any injury. Not to mention telekinetic would be able to protect any VIP with their abilities. Telepaths would be able to probe our enemie's mind and learn everything we need to know about them." explained Stryker.

"You talk as if they are so easy to control. They're not Colonel. That's why I say we should continue funding Trask and his Sentinel project. With these machines, we will have a true weapon to use against them." said Kincaid, trying to change the subject.

"And what about Magneto or Polaris? Those two would turn your giant tin soldiers inside out." mocked Stryker. From the reaction of everyone in the room, they were swaying to his decision. Kincaid was silent but his face was filling with anger.

"That's why gentleman I believe that you will find Operation Wildfire to be a perfect solution to the mutant problem." said Stryker, handing out various papers for the Generals to read. The military leaders were instantly impressed, even Kincaid was too.

"You can do this?" asked Kincaid. "Oh yes, I've already began construction and all I need know is the funds to make it happen." said Stryker. The consensus was unanimous and instantaneous. "Whatever funds you need, you'll get." said Munson.

"You won't regret this gentleman." smiled Stryker.

(HAHAHAHAHA! Another evil cliffhanger, just what is Operation Wildfire and who is this guest that Xavier brought home with him? You'll just have to wait and see. Next chapter is going to be a flashback to the day that Alex first arrived in the Institute and Lorna and him try to have some private time. Of course privacy can be real murder as they'll find out.)


	22. The Domino Effect

(Hello folks, I'm back again. For those of you who were worried that I'd stop writing this fic because I wrote an Atlantis fic, don't. I have no intention of every stopping this fic until I believe that it's time and that might never happen if I keep coming up with good ideas. Rest assured, even if I write another fic I will still keep adding to this one. I just need a little side project to keep me sane. Writing these X-Men stories can get a little tedious at times and I need another project to keep me happy. This chapter is about the day that Alex arrives at the mansion and well the title speaks for itself. Enough with my rambling, on with the madness.)

When Alex's plane arrived at Bayville airport, a limousine with Xavier and Storm took him straight to the mansion. "Thanks for letting me stay Mr. Xavier." said Alex.

"It's alright Alex, you are always welcome here." replied Xavier. They finally arrived at the big mansion that Alex only saw in pictures that his brother sent him. Seeing it in a picture was one thing, but seeing it up close and personal was a whole different story.

They arrived at the front door and waiting inside were all of the Institute's occupants. Scott and Alex embraced immediately. "Welcome to the Institute bro." said Scott.

"Good to finally be here. Just wish it was under better circumstances." said Alex, referring to the fact that he accidentally blow up half of his school. "Yeah well your brother knows all about accidentally blowing up things." said Bobby, referring to Scott blowing up some propane tanks near the school football field.

Scott glared daggers at Bobby who shrugged innocently. "You know mostly everyone here. Now this is Bobby…Sam…Tabitha…Amara…" said Xavier, introducing the new mutants to Alex. Alex intruded him when he got to Polaris.

"And Lorna." he said. That caught almost everybody's attention. "We met once when Alex and Scott were talking on the webcam." explained Lorna. "Do tell." said Kitty, quite interested.

"I'd be happy to show Alex to his room if it's alright?" asked Lorna. "Of course." Alex said quickly. "Very well." said Xavier. Lorna helped grabbed some of Alex's luggage and lead him upstairs. The adults dispersed but the kids didn't.

"Okay Scott, spill the beans." demanded Amara. "What are you talking about?" moaned Scott. "Are those two involved?" asked Tabitha. "No! Those two just met face to face for the first time today." groaned Scott.

"Look, I don't think this is any of our business." started Jean, but no one was paying attention. "C'mon Scott, I've heard of relationships starting in much weirder ways." said Kitty. "Alex isn't old enough to be in a relationship." replied Scott.

"Why ya'll care? It's his life." grunted Rogue. "Hey, don't get angry just because he's got a love life and you don't." snickered Bobby. "What was that?!!" yelled Rogue, about ready to punch Bobby who wisely took off. "Look, nothing's going on between Lorna and Alex. End of discussion." said Scott before leaving.

"You know what this means don't you? Time for a little snooping." said Kitty. "Is that really necessary?" groaned Jean. "Of course, this is the biggest thing to hit the Institute in a while." said Kurt. The others quickly dispersed, except for Jean and Rogue.

"Unbelievable." sighed Jean before walking off. Rogue stood there for a moment, thinking. "They need to grow up." muttered Rogue to herself. Then an idea popped into her head. "Maybe I can help them with that." snickered Rogue.

* * *

Lorna was showing Alex most portions of the mansion, as well as being followed by most of the other students discretely. Finally, they made it out into the backyard to the gazebo.

"This is probably the most important place in the mansion for me. It's the one place that's actually quiet around here. Whenever I need some time to get my head straight I just come here." said Lorna.

"Nice view." said Alex, looking out into the ocean. He turned towards her. "So, why the change in hair color? Don't get me wrong, it's looks good." said Alex. Lorna blushed.

Nearby hiding in the bushes, Bobby was growling. "Unbelievable. I've come up with better pick up lines then that. How come she likes him and not me?" he said. "Maybe because she just doesn't like you." suggest Ray who was right next to him.

"But she likes surfer boy there, no way." grumbled Bobby. The two of them didn't notice one of the security cannons coming online nearby. It aimed above them and fired. The two mutants were confused. "What the heck was that?" wondered Ray.

Then a bee nest fell down right in between them. I think you can guess what happened next. "AHHHH!" they yelled as swarms of insects attacked them. Ray started shooting his electricity everywhere which hit several of the offline security cannons.

They surged to life and started shooting everywhere. Kurt and Kitty quickly ran out their hiding places for dear life and accidentally bumped into Sam who was hiding nearby. His mutatation kicked in and he was shot into a tree which began to collapse right over Scott.

Scott quickly ran but tripped over a branch which caused his glasses to fall off. His eyes shot optic beams at the Mansion, leaving a massive hole in the wall, specifically the bathroom. "AHHHH!" screamed Storm who quickly grabbed a towel to cover herself up. (She just got out of a shower.)

While Bobby was still trying to get away from the bees, he shot an ice beam to freeze the insects. He missed though and froze an area of the ground that Amara ran over and tripped, accidentally firing a fireball on reflex. The fireball went through the mansion wall and hit the absolute unlikeliest target, Logan's motorcycle. It exploded and since he was just stepping inside the garage to take a drive, I believe you can figure how felt. "AMARAAAAAAA!" he yelled.

Amara gulped upon hearing that. Soon the mansion defenses powered down and all the "stalking" students find themselves in front of Xavier and two very angry Storm and Logan. "Care to explain what happened?" growled Ororo.

"Uhhh…well." gulped Scott. "You jerks were spying on us!" yelled Lorna. "Sheesh, do the words privacy mean anything to you people?" grumbled Alex. "Lorna, would you take Alex back inside? I think we need to have a little talk with the others." said Xavier. "Oh we're going to have words alright." growled Logan. All the guilty students gulped. "Why did that stupid cannon just activate by itself?" wondered Bobby.

In the subbasement, Jean and Rogue were standing in front of the central computer erasing all evidence of their little intrusion. "That'll teach 'em privacy." snickered Rogue. The two girls high fived each other.

(The moral of this story, don't insult Rogue or Jean because they can be just as evil as the Brotherhood. For those of you who didn't get the meaning of the title of the last chapter, I choose Progeny because any comic book fan would know that the Cuckoo sisters are clones are Emma Frost. I'm saying this just to make sure everyone knew. My next chapter is going to the most serious story yet. Lance's mother comes to Bayville looking to reconnect with her son and put Xavier's head on a platter.)


	23. Family Reunion

(Surprise! I bet you didn't think I would post again so quickly but I've been writing non-stop ever since I started this chapter. The idea behind it has been in my head even before I started writing the Brotherhood. I hope you enjoy it and I'll try and update as soon as possible.)

Lance was sitting on the sofa watching television and flipping through channels. John was on some dinner date with Amara, Chris and Kine were off with Toad doing who know's what. Most likely something bad for everybody. Fred walked into the living room with a large tray of food.

"Well, now the mystery of world hunger has been solved." chuckled Lance. "Shut up." mumbled Fred as he took a seat. Pietro was sitting in a nearby chair talking to his girlfriend of the week.

"Of course we're still on for Friday Mary, you know you're my one and only…Bye." he said before hanging up. He then dialed a new number. "Hi Shannon, it's your favorite white-haired macho…Of course we're still on for Saturday babe, you know you're my one and only." said Pietro. "Oh brother." mumbled Lance.

That's when Lance noticed something at the corner of his eye. He turned to see a darkened figure staring through the window. Too dark to see who it was but someone was definitely there.

Lance jumped out of his seat and ran to the front door. He busted outside and turned to see nothing. Whoever was there was gone. The others came running out. "What is it?" asked Pietro. Lance examined the ground near the window and saw no footprints.

"Nothin. I thought I saw someone." said Lance "Whatever." said Pietro before zooming inside. Fred followed. Lance took a look at the nearby woods as if by instinct then he went back inside. What he didn't know was that someone was watching him behind one of the trees.

* * *

In the morning, everybody was getting up. Kine, Chris, and Toad were tackling and wrestling each other trying to get to the bathroom first. Toad managed to leap over them…only to have Pietro zoom into the bathroom and close the door while Toad was in mid-air. SPLAT! "Ouch." moaned Toad as his body slide down the door.

Fred was making breakfast while the others waited for Pietro to finish grooming himself sometime this century. "Are you done yet?!" yelled out Toad. "No!" yelled Pietro. "Are you done yet?!" yelled out Kine. "NO!" yelled Pietro. "Are you done yet?!" snickered Chris. "SHUT UP!" yelled Pietro while the others laughed.

John walked by when the others stopped him. "Hey John, could you hurry albino boy up?" asked Chris. John smiled and lite a flame on his finger. He then leaned down and put his finger in the crack between the door and the floor. Smoke began to fill in the bathroom and a few seconds later, Pietro busted out coughing. "Not funny John." he growled.

Lance walked outside to grab the newspaper and to his surprise saw a picture taped to the top of it. But the picture was the last thing he ever thought he would see again.

He quickly ripped it off, tossing the paper aside. He ran back inside and up to his room. No really noticed him because pretty much everyone was fighting to get into the bathroom. Lance quickly pulled out all the drawers on his dresser and dumped their contents.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. A copy of the exact same picture. A photograph of a woman holding a baby in her arms. He had the picture since before he could remember. Probably a picture of his mother but with all the foster parents he went through, no one exactly told him otherwise.

He flipped the newer version of the photograph around and on the back was written **Gideon Park 4:00 pm tonight, meet near the picnic table at the far end from the parking lot**.

* * *

Lance couldn't think for the rest of the day, his mind completely occupied. School seemed to take forever for him, his eyes constantly wandering to whatever clocks he could find. When 3:00 clock finally hit, he was out of his last class and out of school in moments.

He jumped into his jeep and drove away. Gideon Park was only a half an hour drive away so he had plenty of time to scout out the area. It was the fall so virtually no one was in the park except for the occasional jogger. Lance waited impatiently for 4:00 clock to hit.

When it did, he got out of his jeep and walked to the far end picnic table. He glanced around once he got there but saw no one. Lance swore that if this was somebody's idea of a joke, heads were going to roll. Then he heard something behind him. He turned and to his amazement, the ground itself was rising, morphing, changing into a humanoid shape.

Now standing before him was an eight foot large figure made completely out of dirt and soil. The only distinguishing features on it were two yellow eyes. Lance instantly readied himself for attack but the thing held up it's hands as if saying it didn't want to fight.

"Who…what are you?" demanded Lance. "My name is Petra Alvers. I'm…your mother." said the being with a female voice and clearly nervous. Lance stood there for what seemed like an eternity to him in silence. At first he felt shock then denial, hope, love, anger, sorrow almost all at once.

"My mother? But…what happened to you? Why did you leave me? Where have you been all these years?!" yelled Lance, trying not to cry. Petra lowered her head in shame. "It's…difficult to explain. I was betrayed and for years, I've been unable to take a solid form like this. The moment I could, I search endlessly for you and now I've found you." explained Petra.

"That was you last night in the window." realized Lance. "Yes, I've been watching you for awhile now. I wanted to approach you for some time but I didn't know how you would react to my…appearance." said Petra, indicating her dirt body.

"My physical body is gone, this is the closest thing I can to having a real physical body." said Petra, whose body began to shrink and take the physical form of a woman, specifically the woman in Lance's photograph. She now looked like a dirt sculpture, looking exactly how she was in the photo but she was still composed of dirt.

"What happened to you?" asked Lance. "I was betrayed. Please, could we talk about something?" replied Petra. For the next several hours, Lance and his mother talked about everything. From their favorite movies to their favorite music.

"Heavy Metal isn't music, it's just loud noises." said Petra. "Not true, heck I could show you if I had my guitar." said Lance. "You play?" asked Petra. "Of course, I'm no Kirk Hammett (Metallica's lead guitarist.) but I've been practicing." said Lance.

"I'd love to hear you play some time." replied Petra. Lance looked at his watch. "Whoa, I'm gonna be late for my movie with Kitty." said Lance. "Oooooh, a girlfriend?" smiled Petra. "Yeah, you should meet her. I know she'd get along with you just fine." said Lance.

Then Petra's expression changed. "Lance, please don't tell anyone about me." said Petra. "Huh? But why?" asked Lance. "Please, just do it for me." answered Petra. Lance decided not to dwell on the subject. "Alright. When can I see you again?" asked Lance.

"How about tomorrow? Same time same place." said Petra. "Great. Bye mom." said Lance. He was about to leave then he turned and hugged Petra. She returned the embrace. When they separated, Lance noticed that he was now covered in dirt.

"Sorry about that." apologized Petra. "It's okay mom, I'm glad you're back. I love you." said Lance, heading back to his jeep. "I love you too son." Petra yelled out to him. As soon as Lance drove off, Petra's expression changed from a smile to anger.

"Try to manipulate my own son Xavier? None of your puppets are going to harm a hair on his head. I'll make you pay for what you did to me I swear it!" she yelled out.

* * *

Sarah Vale had just arrived a few days ago at the Institute but she was literally thrown into the fire so speak. Danger room sessions, self-defense training, the place was more like a boot camp then a school. She didn't like this place the moment she arrived.

Sarah was never the most athletic girl in her old school and her mutant ability to control anything electronic didn't really help her that much. Her instructors would always tell the others to use their powers but she wasn't allowed to use them because it wouldn't be a challenge if she did.

Everyone else had cool powers. Jean could lift things with her mind, Kitty could phase through anything, Kurt could teleport, heck even Evan's power helped in all the danger room sessions. But not her. Sarah's power took away any challenge to the tests so she was told not to use them but every else was encouraged to use theirs.

She now sat in the library room, trying to finish up some homework. She just starting to attend classes at Bayville and now she had to catch up. This wasn't exactly what she thought everything was going to turn out when Xavier came to her home.

Her foster parents didn't mind her leaving, Sarah's feelings towards her parents were mutual. She never liked them and vis versa. The only reason she put up with them was because of her little sister Jessica. Jessie was one of the only good things in Sarah's life and Sarah missed her. But at least her stupid ex-foster parents liked her, everybody did.

"Homework?" asked Xavier as he wheeled into the room. Sarah simply nodded. "From what I've gathered, you're having trouble adjusting here." continued Xavier. "It's just not fair. I can't use any of my powers during simulations and they never help me when I go one on one with the others." said Sarah.

"You're right. It's not fair for you. But the point of the sessions is to help you rely on things other then your own powers. To rely on your own physical abilities and teammates." said Xavier.

"But I have the most useless power there is. Controlling electronics isn't going to help me fight a guy with a gun." replied Sarah. "Yes but it would greatly help against a tank, a helicopter, a jet fighter, even a nuclear bomb. You could control or disable all of those with just a thought." said Xavier.

"I…guess I never thought about it that way." replied Sarah.

"Sarah, every mutant has their strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone is going to be Wolverine and jumping into danger head first. You have no idea how much I would gladly trade my powers if it meant being able to walk again." said Xavier.

"But you're the most powerful mutant I've ever seen." said a stunned Sarah. "And I can't even go up a flight of stairs. Don't compare yourself with the others, because almost everyone's power is physical here. Your power is more mental, concentrate on that. You could decrypt a fragmented computer file in seconds, tell an electronic door to open without the password. Your talents could become very important someday." said Xavier.

"Charles, ready when you are." said Storm, waiting in the hallway outside. "Thank you Storm. I have to go but if you need to talk about this further, let me know." said Xavier. Sarah nodded and smiled.

* * *

Charles sat in the back of his limousine thinking about his earlier words with Sarah. Storm sat in the front, driving. "How is Sarah doing?" asked Storm. "She's off to a rocky start but I think she'll do fine here." said Xavier.

"Any idea what's causing the anonymous readings Cerebro detected?" asked Storm. "No, whoever or whatever Cerebro is detecting is completely different from any mutant we've encountered." replied Xavier.

Suddenly, the car began to shake. "What in the name…" shouted Storm, trying to control the car. A diamond spike shot out of the ground in front of the limousine. Storm swerved to avoid it but more diamond spikes began to burst out of the road up ahead.

"Hold on Charles!" shouted Storm. Another spike shot up underneath the car, sending it flying into the air. It spinned several times in mid-air before crashing down upside down on a nearby sidewalk.

(Suspenseful isn't it? I realize Petra and Avalanche aren't related in the comic books but I decided to make them that way. Hey, the Evolution writers changed Avalanche's name and ethnicity for show so it's not like this is something new. Sarah Vale is called Network. She only appeared briefly in the comic books before getting killed off. When I'm bringing her into the Evolution universe and I have big plans for her. Ciao.)


	24. Petra

(Sorry about not posting sooner but things have been hectic the past week. I rewrote the battle scene because I wasn't very proud of my first take on it plus I'm also working on several other fics that I haven't even posted on Fanfic yet. Ahhh, enough with me moaning. Oh, this will be a very sad chapter as you'll find out.)

Storm managed to shake off the cobwebs to regain her senses. The limousine was upside down. Ororo managed to unbuckled herself and looked in the back to see Charles unconscious and bleeding from the head. "Charles!" she yelled, trying to get him to respond. He lay there motionless.

Storm crawled into the back just as the car began to shake again. She glanced out the windows to see that they were sinking right into the ground. She didn't have a lot of time. Storm concentrated with her powers, creating a tornado right above the car. The updraft began to pull them upwards, out of the ground slowly but surely.

Storm kicked the rear left door open and dragged Xavier out. She pulled him clear of the car just before the ground pulled it under. Then she noticed the diamond spikes breaking off the ground and started levitating in the air. They aimed at her and zoomed towards her.

She summoned lightning that struck the spikes, veering them off course and away from her. More diamond spikes broke out of the ground and aimed themselves at Storm and Charles. Knowing she had to get out of there quickly, Storm created mist that made visibility near zero.

Petra formed amongst this fog and walked to where Storm and Charles were. The two were long gone, using the mist to cover their escape. "You can run but you can't hide." said Petra.

* * *

At the Institute, everybody was going through another boring Friday night. Those who weren't out were doing homework, studying, or playing video games. Lorna and Rogue were sitting in the library trying to think of stuff to write for their essay.

"I hate essays." grumbled Lorna. "At least you're not doing it with Pietro or Fred." replied Rogue. "Good point." said Lorna.

That's when they heard a loud noise in the main foyer. They ran out to it to find Storm carrying the Professor on her back. She was exhausted and after setting down Xavier, she collapsed. "Storm!" yelled Rogue.

The two girls quickly checked on the two injured adults when more people came running in to see what was going on. "Oh my." gasped Beast. "What happened to them?" asked a stunned Summers. "I don't know, Storm just ran in carrying Xavier on her back then collapsed." said Lorna.

Beast picked both of them on his shoulders. "Call everybody up and get them back here ASAP." Beast ordered Summers. He nodded and ran to the kitchen where the telephone was. The rest followed Beast to the med lab.

* * *

Kitty and Lance were both sitting at a Steak and Shakes (I love that restaurant!) eating their meals. Kitty was having a salad and Lance was having a burger with fries. "That movie had it's moments but seriously, it was kinda lame." said Kitty.

"Yeah, it could have been better. But hey, if I get to watch it with you then I'll watch it again anytime." said Lance. Kitty giggled. That's when her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and answered it.

"Hello…Whoa slow down Scott…WHAT?! Oh my gosh…I'm on my way." said Kitty, her eyes filled with concerned as she hung up the phone. "What's wrong?" asked Lance. "It's the Professor, he was attacked." said Kitty, getting to her feet.

"What? By who?" said a shocked Lance. "I don't know but I have to get back to the Institute." said Kitty. "Say no more, let's go." said Lance as they headed back to his jeep.

* * *

When Lance parked the jeep right near the front entrance, Kitty jumped right out with Lance right behind her. They headed into the medical room where everyone was gathered around Storm and Xavier who were lying on patient beds.

"How are they?" asked Kitty. "Storm has some minor cuts and contusions. She just passed out from exhaustion. Charles on the other hand is a different story. He suffered a concussion and I had to surgically repair some internal bleeding." answered Beast.

"But they're going to be okay right?" asked Kitty. "Yes, they'll be okay." said Beast. "So what happened?" asked Lance. Scott threw a disapproving look at Kitty, obviously not wanting him here. But Jean decided to answer before he started something.

"I was just about to find out." said Jean, before she touched Storm's head. She peered into Ororo's memories, witnessing the moments of the accident and the attack, the exhaustion of carrying Xavier on her back, the fear of using any communications for fear of being discovered.

"She never saw her attacker but whoever it was capable of manipulating the earth. A geokinetic." said Jean. "Cerebro detected an unusual mutant signature. Unfortunately, we can't seem to track whoever this is." replied Beast, remembering those readings.

That immediately caught Lance's attention but he turned his face to make sure no one saw his shock.

* * *

Outside, Petra busted out of the ground onto the Institute grounds. "Time to shake you out of your hole." she grunted then concentrated. The whole mansion began to shake violently.

* * *

Everyone turned to Lance, thinking he was the cause of earthquake. "That's not me." he grunted. "Guys, someone's outside." said Bobby, who came running into the med room. "I guess we won't have to search for the attacker anymore." replied Beast. Wolverine was the first one out the door and everyone else quickly followed him.

All the X-Men came running outside, along with Lance. His shock upon seeing Petra was unnoticed by the others as they prepared for battle. "Who are you?" Logan demanded.

"Well well, it seems that Xavier has been a busy little cripple. Did he warp your minds to obtain your loyalty or did he just use his checkbook?" mocked Petra.

"MOM STOP!" yelled Lance. That caught everybody off guard. "Mom?" the X-Men all said at once. Lance pushed his way through the others to come face to face with his mother.

"What are you doing?" demanded Lance. "Remember the person I told you who betrayed me? Well it was none other then Charles Xavier." said Xavier. "What are you talking about?" asked Lance.

"It happened just a few months after you were born. Your father abandoned us and handling a child was hard enough with mutant powers. Then I got a call from Xavier, stating that he wanted to help me. I didn't have much to lose so I gave you to my best friend to watch for a few days while I went to see him. At the time, he was still constructing this mansion and the only person with him was Ororo Monroe. At first, Xavier did help. I found how to focus my abilities. But then one day, something happened. My body began to turn into dirt and I couldn't stop it. I was trapped in some kind of state where I was barely able to think let alone use my powers. But I kept at it, slowly and surely learning how to control the very ground that I was made of. It took me nearly seventeen years before I was able to retake a physical shape, time that should have been spent with Lance. Instead, Xavier robbed me of nearly years!" explained Petra.

"Look, this isn't Xavier's fault. Your body must have had a dormant secondary power that was activated once you learned to control your original ability." said Beast.

"LIAR!" yelled Petra, converting her shape into a seven foot tall dirt goliath. "The only two things that kept me going during those years underground was seeing Lance again and killing Xavier. Now you can either move or share his fate." she continued.

"You're not going anywhere near him." growled Cyclops as the X-Men readied for battle. "Your funeral." grunted Petra. "Wait mom don't!" yelled Lance.

But now it was on. Cyclops fired his optic blasts at Petra. It left a huge hole in her chest which almost instantly healed itself. Wolverine jumped into the air. Petra converted her body into diamond which Wolverine's claws got stuck on as he came down.

Petra then started pounding on Logan with her fists as he was unable to move. Kitty dashed forward and phased Wolverine out of Petra's grasp. Spyke fired several bone spears at her but they simply bounced off her diamond shell.

Alex and Scott both fired their energy blasts which hurled Petra backwards. She landed on the ground and sank underneath the dirt. A second later, she emerged now in dirt form right behind the two brothers. One backhand sent both of them flying.

Jean managed to levitate Petra into the air and Lorna began to hurling metallic objects at the dirt mutant. The metal simply passed through her body harmlessly. Petra then began to melt, turning into magma. Despite her power, Jean couldn't hold liquid very easily and the magma began to leak to the ground.

The magma melted completely through the ground and then earth began to shake. Suddenly, stalagmites began to burst out of the ground everywhere. The X-Men were forced to run or get impaled. The stalagmites then broke off and levitated into the air.

They turned towards the X-men and shot forward. Jean managed to shield them long enough for the others to shoot the spikes out of the air. Meanwhile, Lance was absolutely torn. He didn't really like anybody except Kitty but the one attacking them was his mother. Someone he wanted years to meet and here she was attacking the girl of his dreams.

Petra reformed herself and hurled rocks from her body that knocked Jean and Lorna down from the sky. All of the X-Men were either injured or unconscious. Petra turned and started walking towards the mansion.

Then Kitty ran forward and delivered a leaping kick that knocked Petra to the ground. But she got back up almost instantly. "Stupid girl." muttered Petra before the dirt underneath Kitty began to soften and become like quicksand.

Kitty began to sink and phasing couldn't help her because everywhere she tried to move, she would just sink more. "No, Mom don't!" yelled Lance. Petra ignored him as Kitty kept sinking. Finally, Lance couldn't take it anymore.

He sent a seismic tremor at his mother. She screamed in pain and her body crumpled into dirt. Lance stepped forward towards where she vanished. "Mom?" he asked. No response. He got closer and felt the dirt that was part of her body. He scooped it up and still nothing happened.

"Mom?...Mom?...No wait come back! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" he yelled out, starting to dig into the dirt with his hands. Still no response. No, he couldn't have killed her did he? "NO!" yelled Lance, the ground shaking violently from his anguish.

"Lance." whispered Kitty, trying to comfort him but he pushed her away. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled. He ran back to his jeep and drove off before Kitty could catch up to him.

* * *

A few hours later, Xavier and Storm were awake and were told everything. Xavier explained that he did try to help Petra but when her secondary mutation activated, there wasn't anything he could do. Not being able to help her was one of Xavier's biggest regrets in his life.

When they went to go talk to Lance, they were blocked by the other Brotherhood members. "Didn't you read our signs?" snickered Pietro, pointing to a crudely made sign on the house that said: NO GEEKS PERMITTED.

"We just want to know if Lance is alright." said Xavier. "How do you think he feels? He just killed his mother thanks to you people." grunted Toad. "Our fault? She tried to kill us." growled Scott.

"This isn't up for discussion. Lance specifically told us that he didn't want to see any of you and I mean all of you." said Pyro, indicating even Kitty. There was something in their voices that was different also. The Brotherhood was dead serious on not letting them see Lance and they might enforce they with violence.

"Do let him we are sorry for what happened." said Storm. Kine spit right at her feet. Logan and Scott were about ready to attack but Xavier held up his hand. The Brotherhood, having nothing else to say, slammed the door shut.

Up in his room, Lance was holding the picture of his mother with tears in his eyes. Now it all made sense why she just watched him for all this time and never approached him until now. He hadn't even did a seismic tremor in weeks, something that he's never done before.

His tremors harmed her and that's why she couldn't get close until now. When he sent those tremors at her, he only did it to stop her from killing Kitty. He didn't mean to kill her. Then again she might still be alive but she would probably never want to see him again.

The next day, Lance sat at the same spot they met the other day. But she never came. Lance waited for hours but finally gave up. He blew his one and only chance to have a relationship with his mother and Lance doubted he would ever get another.

(Probably the saddest ending I've ever written. Is Petra truly dead? You know the old saying. Nobody ever dies in comic books. Well anyway, what happens next? With Hex Factor on the way, one more chapter dealing with the aftermath of what Lance did and then we're moving onto Wanda and Sentinels. Ciao!)


	25. Aftermath

(I'm sorry. I was hoping to post much sooner then this but with college starting back up and I'm now looking for a new temporary job, I haven't been able to work on this as much as I wanted to. Don't worry, I'm not done with this fic by a long shot though. I actually expect to keep working on it for years possibly. Hey as long as I have stories to write and people who will read 'em, I'll keep 'em comin.)

The weekend went by fast for the X-Men who were repairing the damage done by Petra. But things were somewhat tense at school with the Brotherhood. Where the hoods would normally tease or insult their rivals, they didn't even speak to the X-Men at all.

All except John who only talked to Amara who were both sitting out in the quad having lunch. "Lance still hasn't left the house?" asked Amara. "Nah, he's been taking rather rough as you can imagine. Won't talk to any of us." said John.

"I wish there were something we could do for him." said Amara. "Don't think we haven't tried it already sheila. I don't think anybody can bring him out of this except himself." said John.

Nearby, Rogue and Lorna were sitting at a picnic table. "Man, killing your own mother. Ah can't imagine how ah would feel if that happened to me." said Rogue. Lorna's mind was pre-occupied with something else.

For the past few weeks, she's been hiding a piece of shrapnel she picked up back at the scrap yard where she rejected Magneto and joined the X-Men. The metal shard had blood on it, specifically Magneto's blood.

He fell onto it when Rogue and Lorna blasted him with a powerful magnetic blast. Polaris held onto it, wanting to know if the big question all the X-Men had: Was Magneto Lorna's father?

She had the shard hidden away in her room, just waiting to get the nerve to put it through a paternity test with her own blood. She never really thought about it before but with the incident with Lance's mother, Polaris had been thinking a lot about it.

She managed to bribe an analyst to do the test thanks to some money she kept when she left the Brotherhood. She wasn't going to say a word about this to anybody, especially Xavier. Despite his good intentions, he tries to protect his students even when they don't need protecting. And right now Lorna didn't need protecting, she needed the truth.

"Hey, ya'll still on Earth?" asked Rogue. Lorna snapped out of her daze. "Uhh, yeah." said Lorna. The bell rang, signaling it was time to get to class. "Remember, we need to do finish up the annex for our paper tonight so how about we take care of it after school." suggested Rogue.

"Uhh…I can't. I've got something to do." said Lorna. "Like what?" asked Rogue. "It's nothing. We'll finish it tonight." said Lorna, who headed off to her next class.

* * *

Kitty wasn't one to usually skip school but she could barely sit for a minute let alone a few hours. She hadn't talked to Lance in days and with the other Brotherhood members at school, now was her chance.

She had to walk all the way there but it wasn't very far. Mystique had the Boarding House built only a few minutes drive away from the school. She phased through the house and couldn't find anyone home. She checked out the back and saw Lance sitting underneath a tree, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

She approached him slowly, not exactly sure just how he was going to react. "You don't have to sneak around." said Lance, who wasn't looking at her when he said it. Obviously she needed to work on her stealth skills. "Yeah, I kinda need to work on that." admitted Kitty, who sat down next to him. He didn't protest. "Why didn't you call me?" asked Kitty. Lance sighed.

"Kitty, I don't like help from other people. I always take care of things myself. Guess that's the reason why I got so used to being alone. Heck, I didn't care about any of my foster parents. Most were either jerks, nut jobs, or people who wanted me just for the checks from social services. But she was…she was my real mother. Someone who actually loved me for being me. And I killed her...Everything always ends badly for me. Story of my life." grunted Lance.

"Tell me this Lance, do you like me?" asked Kitty. "Of course." responded Lance. "But why? If everything ends badly for any connections you have with other people, why bother?" asked Kitty. "I guess…I just ran with it. I liked you and I didn't really what would happened and I didn't really care. I was in the moment and for months, you were all I could think about." said Lance.

"So despite your whole theory about personal relationships not working out, you didn't give up on me. How many months did you try to ask me?" asked Kitty. "Two months, twenty six days, seven hours, and thirteen seconds." replied Lance.

Kitty threw him a look. "Actually, I just made that up." chuckled Lance. Kitty smiled. "And you haven't left here either." pointed out Kitty, indicating the Boarding House. "Yeah well, I've got no one else to go." said Lance.

"Well that's a lie. You could find plenty of places with Toad's smell, Pietro's arrogance, Fred's endless appetite, John's fire accidents…" explained Kitty. "Okay okay, I guess I do kinda like these guys. They're…like family. A family that actually accepts me for who I am." admitted Lance.

"Same as me." said Kitty. The two were silent for a moment, their faces close. "NOOOOOOO!" yelled Kine. Kitty and Lance both glanced over to see Kine, Chris, and Pietro all watching them. "They were going to kiss. I win, pay up." said Pietro, smiling. The other two grudgingly handed over money.

"How about we continue this conversation somewhere more private?" suggested Kitty. "Fine by me." said Lance, giving the three snoops a death glare.

* * *

Lorna stood in the empty parking lot, waiting for her contact. The guy was quite paranoid about someone from his job seeing him and getting him fired. Personally, Lorna thought the guy was too overprotective but she wanted those results and this was the only way.

She waited for almost fifteen minutes before the man finally showed. In his hands was a folder. "You've got the money?" he asked. Lorna handed it over and took the folder. Now that he got what he wanted, the man simply left but Lorna didn't care.

She went through the test results, eager to get an answer. And sure enough she got one. The test came back positive. Lorna's genetic probability with Magneto was one hundred percent. That meant he wasn't an uncle or distant relative. A one hundred percent can only occur from one of the biological parents. Magneto is her father.

Lorna couldn't believe. She should have expected this outcome but she always had her doubts. She was actually afraid to test the sample ever since she got, afraid of what she might find out. And now it was official, she was the daughter of her greatest enemy.

The embodiment of all that she swore she would fight against was her own flesh and blood. How could she fight him again knowing this? She dropped the folder and the papers inside fell out to the ground.

That's when she felt a presence behind her. She turned and floating in the air was the familiar figure with a billowing cape and red metallic armor with a helmet that completely covered his face. Magneto.

"Hello Lorna. We need to talk." he said.

(That dialogue between Kitty and Lance took me forever to write. I kept writing something, hated it, erased it, then wrote something else and the cycle repeated. But I'm glad how it turned out. Lately, I haven't been giving a lot of spotlight on several people including Cyclops, Shadowcat, Beast, Jean, etc. Yes, I know I've been working more with Jean now because I started realizing that I've been neglecting some characters. Well I'm going to try and fix that. I thought this chapter was a nice way to start with Kitty. Aaah, I'm writing too much. Time for a preview of the next chapter. Can you say Hex Factor? That's right, Wanda's coming to the Hood House and you know what happens next. Please review, you have no idea how much I enjoy feedback.)


	26. The Hex Factor

(Hello fanfic fans. Today is my birthday but instead of getting presents from all of you, I decided to give you all a present. A brand new chapter. Yes folks, it's the Hex Factor. I had more fun writing this chapter then any I had written before. Not only was The Hex Factor one of my favorite episodes, it introduced Wanda. She is one of my favorite characters and I love writing her. Enjoy!)

Mystique walked through the corridors of the asylum, her eyes determined. She finally found the right person to help her get revenge on Magneto. When she joined Essex, he promised her vengeance but she quickly found out the truth. He only cared about his research, not going to war with Magneto and his followers.

Well she was through waiting. She sifted through the Xavier files and found the perfect mutant to help her. Wanda Maximoff. A very unique girl about sixteen years old. According to Xavier's notes, she had the ability to alter reality. Her intense anger with her father and the abuse at the hands of the asylum increased her power, making her potentially one of the most powerful mutants in the world.

With the proper training, she could be unstoppable. But first, she had to get her out of the asylum first. Magneto was a fool to throw away a girl as powerful as her and now it will be his downfall.

Mystique stepped into the visitor's hallway to find the ceiling partially collapsed. Disguised as a doctor, she approached one of the janitors who was cleaning up some of the mess. "What happened here?" she asked.

"That girl got loose again. I swear she must be possessed or something. How else can she do these things?" responded the janitor. "Where is she?" asked Mystique. The janitor pointed to the visitor's room. Mystique turned and walked towards it. The metallic door was busted off it's lock, obviously Wanda's doing.

Mystique glanced inside to Xavier talking with Wanda. A bigger fool then Magneto, Xavier actually thought he could help Wanda just by talking with her. The fool, he's been at it for years and accomplished nothing. He should have simply altered her mind to be more cooperative towards him and use her in his precious X-Men.

But he was a fool and now he was going to pay the price. Mystique wasn't sure how powerful her mental blocks were. Ever since her enhancements from Asteroid M, she was able to block anyone from reading her mind. But she hadn't tested it against someone as powerful as Xavier.

With a deep breath, she stepped inside the room. "Excuse me professor, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut Wanda's sessions short. Radiology is waiting to do some additional MRI's." lied Mystique.

"Yes of course." responded Xavier. Mystique couldn't believe it, even he couldn't see through her disguise. Her mental blocks were truly impenetrable. Xavier turned back to Wanda. "Now I want you to go quietly. No more outbursts understood?" said Xavier. Wanda grunted an acknowledgement.

Mystique easily lead Wanda past the security station with an id she formed on her body. She led her past radiology. Mystique could tell that Wanda was getting nervous, she knew something was wrong. "Just keep moving Wanda." said Mystique, trying to keep her calm.

The two entered the stairwell and now Wanda was starting to get scared. The lights overhead began to flicker and an emergency water hose behind them burst out it's container, thrashing around like it was alive. "There's nothing to get agitated about, I'm going to help you." said Mystique.

She knew she had to hurry. Wanda was getting more frightened by the moment and the more stressed she was, the more damage she caused. They entered the first floor hallway, the walls starting to crack. Mystique breathed a sigh of relief when they got to the back doors.

Waiting for them was Agatha Harkness, an old friend of Destiny. She approached Wanda and touched the young girl's face. Then she started chanting something that Mystique didn't understand. Whatever she said worked, Wanda began to relax as if she was hypnotized.

"Good." said Mystique, reverting back to her normal form. "Just keep her under control." she continued, opening the car door for Wanda to get in. Agatha helped the girl inside then got into the driver's seat. "I have other business to attend to." finished Mystique who walked back inside, now in the form of a security guard.

* * *

Sarah Vale still found adjusting to Bayville High rough. Thankfully, Rogue and Lorna let her sit with them at lunch. Sitting alone during this time always made her feel awkward. She didn't really fit in with anybody else so she was now one of the outsiders so to speak.

Lately, Lorna was distant, even quieter then usual. Something was up with her but frankly, it was none of Sarah's business. She didn't believe in getting involved in someone's personal affairs. A certain person sat down then with them who obviously didn't share her opinion.

"Hello ladies." said Pietro. "Go away." grumbled Rogue. "Why my dearest Rogue, you wound me." chuckled Pietro. "Ah will if ya'll don't get lost." growled Rogue.

Pietro then turned his attention to Sarah. "Why hello there, I don't believe we've met." he said. "How about we keep it that way?" Sarah said, not interested in him at all. She knew all about Maximoff and his policy of taking a girl out one night then dumping her the next day.

"Not getting to know a fellow student would just be inappropriate for me. Especially one as beautiful as you." smirked Pietro. A second later, Sarah dumped the contents of her pop bottle onto Maximoff's head.

Rogue and Lorna chuckled while Pietro didn't find it very funny. "This means war sweetheart." grumbled Maximoff before he walked off. The girls all laughed.

"If Ah'd known that would keep him away, ah would have done that a long time ago." chuckled Rogue. "Hey, where's Risty?" asked Lorna. "Said she had some big family reunion trip to go on." replied Rogue.

* * *

Later on that night, all the boys were moping around when the one thing they feared for so long happened. Mystique busted through the front door. "Guess whose back." she said with a smile on her face.

Fred gasped, nearly choking on the sandwich he was eating. Pietro dropped the tv controller in disbelief. Lance and Toad stood on the stair speechless. Toad hopped up to her. "Hey is that you?" he asked. Mystique responded by grabbing him and tossing him aside.

"Yeah, it's you." grumbled Toad, now on his back. "Glad to see you didn't blow up my house while I was away." Mystique said. "Yeah, well we've been making a few improvements." said Fred.

"Who's this?" asked John who came down the stairs with Kine and Chris. "Well well, if it isn't Mister Allerdyce. Let time I saw you, you wanted nothing to do with the Brotherhood." glared Mystique. "Had a change of heart. Where you've been asked?" asked John, not intimidated by her.

"Not sitting around on the couch all day that's for sure. What happened to the tough mutants I assembled?" she grunted at all of them. "What are you talking about? We're stronger then ever now that we have John, Chris, and Kine." said Lance.

"Yes, I'll admit your better. But what do you do with your newfound strength? YOU JUST SIT AROUND ALL DAY! Not only that, two of you tried to join the X-Men." she said, glaring at Lance and Pyro.

"And worse, YOU ACTUALLY SAVED THE X-MEN!" she yelled, referring to the incident with Silver Samurai. "It was his idea." said Toad, pointing to Lance. Everybody else except John also pointed their fingers at Alvers.

"Well excuse us for getting off the couch." snickered John. "What?" growled Mystique. "You abandoned the Brotherhood for fend for ourselves and suddenly you think you can come back here and tell us all what to do. I think you need a lesson in reality wench." said John.

Mystique was about to lunge at him when fire emerged on John's body. But instead of getting angry, Mystique just smiled. "Wanda." she yelled over her shoulders. That caught Pietro's attention. His eye nearly popped out his sockets when he saw a girl about his age walk into house.

"Wanda!" screamed Pietro. "Pietro?!" yelled Wanda. Then everything went insane. Suddenly objects all around the house began to float and move around all over the place. Pipes started popping out of the walls along with electric wiring.

Wanda sent a hex bolt that knocked John off his feet and dispersed his flames. All the Brotherhood boys quickly ran into the living room for cover with Mystique watching all of this amused.

Pietro, Lance, and Toad took cover behind the couch. "Ex-girlfriend?" asked Toad. "Worse, she's my sister." said Pietro just before the ceiling fan flew over their heads.

"Your sister?" said Toad. "You two need some serious family counseling. Make sure her stop." said Lance. Pietro glared at him. "You make her stop." grunted Pietro.

"Fine, I will." growled Lance. He stood and summoned a tremor that started cracking the ceiling above Wanda's head. She growled and with a motion of her hand, the tremor was sent back at Lance.

"AHHH!" everybody screamed as the ceiling collapsed on top of them. Toad managed to free himself and leaped up. He spit slime at Wanda but another motion of her hand sent the slime right back at Toad's face.

He fell to the ground. "Ah gross, I slimed myself." he said.

Kine tried to send a neural command at Wanda but a motion of her hand cause the command to affect Chris. "Hey, stop!" yelled Chris as he rammed his head into the wall. "What the heck?" said Kine, confused on what was happening.

Wanda sent a hex bolt as him, knocking Kine to the wall. Finally, Agatha entered. "Easy Wanda." she said then started muttering some foreign dialog. Wanda finally calmed down and Agatha led her into the kitchen.

The Brotherhood boys began to poke their heads out of their various hiding places, all in shock. "That is why I can just come back here and give you orders. Unless you'd prefer I let her loose on you all again." smirked Mystique.

The boys all quickly shook their heads. Pietro zoomed up to Mystique. "Are you out of your mind bringing Wanda here? Can't you tell how dangerous she is? She's like a witch with those powers." he said.

"And that is preciously why she is so valuable to our little cause. Anyway, you needn't worry. As you can see, I've brought an old friend Agatha Harkness to teach her to focus her anger into unbeatable power." replied Mystique.

"Just makes you think she's going to cooperate with us? You might have noticed, I'm not one of her favorite people." moaned Pietro. "She'll cooperate because I can give her the one she wants most. Revenge." smiled Mystique.

"Revenge? Against who?" asked Lance. "Her father, Magneto." answered Mystique. Everyone's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute, if Wanda is Magneto's daughter and Pietro is Wanda's sister then that means…I got nothing." said Fred. "Magneto is your father?" Chris said to Pietro. "Uhh…yeah." muttered Pietro.

* * *

Wanda stood in the bathroom, cutting the last long strand of her hair. For the last several days, she was intense session with Agatha. The woman pushed Wanda with illusions and challenges, all aimed at teaching her to control her anger.

She couldn't believe she was saying this but the sessions were quite therapeutic. Wanda managed to finally let out so much anger that she had inside of her. Anger at father, Pietro, life itself. Agatha managed to do in a few days what Xavier couldn't in years.

The thought of that old cripple angered Wanda. She wasn't sure whether to hate him more then father. He would every month trying to do that mushy heart to heart crap. He tried to get her to actually forgive her father for what he did and said that was the only way to move on.

He just wanted her to be one of his pawns, a puppet on his strings. Wanda refused to ever be used by anyone, least of all him. At least Mystique was giving her what she wanted, revenge against her father.

"Uh…looks nice." stuttered Pietro as he walked into the room. Wanda growled, the mirror behind her cracking. "Wanda wait! I just wanna talk. I mean come on, you're my sister." he pleaded. Wanda managed to get a hold of herself and suppress her anger.

"Thanks. Listen, I know how hard it must have been for you." started Pietro. "You don't know anything." growled Wanda. Pietro gulped but continued, "I didn't want him to leave you there. Honestly, I tried so hard to convince him to bring you back. But he kept saying you were out of control and wouldn't change his mind."

Wanda didn't respond at first. "Why didn't you come visit me? You could have wrote to me!" she yelled. "I…didn't think you'd forgive me." said Pietro, his head held low. The room was silent for a moment as Wanda thought what next to say.

"I don't." whispered Wanda who walked out of the room. Pietro was about to chase after her but quickly changed his mind. He sighed and stepped out into the hallway to find Mystique waiting for him.

"Right now, I'm quite certain I don't have to worry about the other's loyalty. But yours I do have to question." said Mystique. "You don't have to worry about me. I owe Magneto nothing. He's not my father, he never was." grunted Pietro.

"Good. Then it's time to move forward." replied Mystique. "You think we're ready to go up against Magneto?" asked Pietro. "Almost. That's why I've arranged for a little test first." said Mystique, smiling.

* * *

The X-Men (consisting of Cyclops, Jean, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Spyke, and Rogue) entered the lobby of the Bayville mall. Xavier told them that he tracked Wanda's power to that location. But something was strange, he held Lorna back from the mission and told them to take down Wanda using overwhelming force, stating that trying to reason with her would be useless.

The team didn't get it, that didn't sound like the Professor. But if he was telling them to do that then he must have a good reason. Or at least that's what Scott keeps telling himself. "Let's split up. Jean, Spyke, and I will take the first floor. The rest of you take the balconies." ordered Summers.

They scattered apart, heading in every direction. They didn't realize they were being watched. "Hot stuff to push stuff, the dorks have entered the building." reported Pietro over the radio.

"_Hot stuff? That's the best code name you could come up with?"_ grumbled Kine over the intercom. "What can I say, it's the most appropriate. Get ready." chuckled Pietro before zooming off.

Spyke wandered down the hallway and suddenly Kine came out from behind a nearby pillar. "Hey porcupine. Welcome to Pusher's Bowling Alley." said Pusher. Evan popped out spikes. Kine then sent a neural command that forced Daniels to run forward and dive to the ground.

The thing was the floor was covered in some kind of grease so Evan kept sliding across the hallways. He crashed through several bowling pins that were set up at the end of the grease trail, hitting them all and then finally hitting the wall.

"Strike!" yelled Chris who was nearby and recording everything with his video camera. The two of them ran off, with a very angry Evan on their trail.

Pietro came running out of a clothing store laughing. A few seconds later, Kurt stumbled out covered in various clothing. "Get back here you maniac!" yelled Kurt.

Lance was trying to convince Kitty to leave. Toad tried to slime Rogue and ended up touching her hand. Blob tried to jump off the second floor balcony and land on Summers but Cyclops blasted Blob out of the air and into a nearby fountain.

John sat in the food court, steamed both figuratively and physically. Steam was floating off his body. "Pyro? What are you doing here?" said Jean when she saw him. "I suppose I should be a stupid puppet like the others but I'm not gonna take orders from that wench. Forget her!" he yelled before getting up and heading towards the exit.

Jean was about to follow him when she heard a commotion back in the main lobby. Out there, the Brotherhood and X-Men were in a big free for all. Jean used her kinesis to hold up Pietro whom Scott blasted in the air.

Kurt managed to knock out Kine and Chris decided to fight another day. Toad was still out from touching Rogue who currently taunting Fred. Blob charged her and she simply leaped out of the way using Toad's power. Blob slammed head first into the wall. "I've got to stop doing that." moaned Fred as he slide to the floor.

"Well, that wasn't much of challenge." smiled Daniels. "How about me?" said a voice behind them. They turned to Wanda standing there, powering up. Before they had a chance to react, a piano behind them came flying at them. Cyclops tried to shoot it but his optic blast bend in mid-air and hit the wall.

Everyone dove out of the piano's way. Rogue landed and found a wall of fire approaching her. She took off running with the flames chasing her. Scott suddenly started firing his blasts and couldn't stop them. In fact, he couldn't even control where his head turned. He involuntarily turned his head at Daniels and blasted him into a video store.

He turned his head again, this time nearly hitting Jean. "Scott, what are you doing?!" she yelled. "I don't know, I can't control it. I can't close my eyes." said a panicking Cyclops. Jean sent a telekinetic blast at Wanda but with a wave of her hand, the blast came back at Jean and knocked her to the wall.

Spyke came charging at Wanda, firing spikes at her. A moment later, they came flying back. Shadowcat phased through the floor and came around from behind. When she started phasing herself back up, her body stopped. She struggled but was unable to phase herself out.

"Help! I can't move!" she yelled. "Don't worry, I've got you." said Kurt, coming up from behind her. He touched her and they teleported away. A second later they reappeared outside…over a tree. The two screamed as gravity kicked in and they fell down.

Back inside, Wanda felt good. She was finally able to let out that anger that she's kept inside for so long and unfortunately for the X-Men, they were going to experience it.

She screamed in fury, the walls seemed to explode as she unloaded her rage onto the building. The second floor balcony completely collapsed, the whole place looked like a warzone. Jean helped Scott to his feet.

"It's no good Scott. We can't stop her. She's too strong. We've got to retreat." said Jean. Scott's expression turned to anger. He turned and was about to charge at Wanda when Jean grabbed him. "No! It's not over yet!" he yelled.

"Yes it is. Let's go." she said, in a tone of an order. Scott grunted but relented. The X-Men quickly ran to the exit as the Brotherhood laughed at them.

"Nah nah nah nah nah, we win you lose. Have a nice day!" Chris yelled at the retreating X-Men. Lance slapped his head. "She's never going to talk to me again." he groaned. "We beat 'em!" yelled Fred, celebrating. "Yeah, thanks to our new secret weapon. The Scarlet Witch." Toad said proudly.

Pietro approached Wanda cautiously. "You were great Wanda and in complete control. That was incredible." he said, touching her shoulder. She turned and glared at him. He quickly took his hand off her. She turned and walked away.

Toad was watching her as she left. "I think I'm in love." he said to himself.

(Is it just me or does it seem like the girls are always the most powerful mutants? Jean, Rogue, Wanda, Lorna, Petra, Storm, Emma. PRIORITY ALERT! I need help with who will be in Magneto's Acolytes. I've already decided that it will have Sabertooth, Blink, Gambit, Colossus, and I need one more. Please tell me who I should use and please pick someone I haven't used yet. Thanks!)


	27. Day of Reckoning part 1

(Sorry I didn't include a preview for this chapter in my last update. But trust me, this chapter will definitely pump you up for Day of Reckoning. Expect a lot of changes though. Enjoy!)

The past few days had been pretty rough for the X-Men. Now that Wanda was a member of the Brotherhood, which meant that the hood boys could beat the X-Men anytime they wanted too.

Xavier pushed the students hard, harder then ever before. Logan thought something was off with Chuck but with all the powerful enemies they had, maybe some intense training is a good thing.

About two hours ago, Jean was practicing using Cerebro when it picked up on Sabertooth's mutant signature right in Bayville. Creed worked for Magneto and that meant something bad was probably in the works. Chuck didn't even need to say a word to Logan, he was gone.

For the next 120 minutes Logan tracked his bitter rival all the way into the sewer system, probably hoping to mask his scent with the running water and foul stench. But Wolverine dealt with Creed enough times to know how to follow him even without a scent.

The thing was…Victor wasn't the only one down here. For the past several minutes, Logan sensed he was being followed. They were at least seven of them, most likely a team. It was probably an ambush but Logan wasn't going to let that stop him. He was going to put Creed down once and for all.

He carried on, following Creed's trail. The odd thing was, it was like Victor was going around in circles. Even going down the same tunnels again and again. It didn't make any sense but if he was moving in a pattern, then ambushing him should be a cakewalk.

Logan waited on top on a drainage pipe until he heard Victor moving beneath him. He leaped down and kicked Creed in the back. The feral mutant fell to the ground but was on his feet in a fraction of a second. He growled at Logan, ready to strike.

Wolverine was about to attack again when suddenly, a sewer grating flew off the ceiling and wrapped around him. A familiar red skinned mutant teleported beside Victor. "Can you say set up?" chuckled Sabertooth before Blink teleported both of them away, leaving Wolverine alone in the sewer. Logan managed to slice the metal entrapment holding him.

Suddenly, a floating mechanical pod floated down practically right on top of him. Before Wolverine could react, it began firing green slime of some kind. In seconds, he was completely covered in it. Logan screamed just before the slime hardened, freezing him inside.

The pod landed and out stepped Doctor Bolivar Trask. He stepped forward and touched Wolverine's frozen shell, making sure it wasn't weakened. The "statis slime" as his fellow scientists called it worked perfectly. The mutant was trapped inside.

One of Trask's shadowteam operatives approached him. "Doctor Trask. We lost the other mutants. Some kind of magnetic interference is scrambling our sensor equipment." the operative reported. "Forget them. Let's just get this one back to the facility." replied Trask.

* * *

At the Brotherhood house, the boys were all sitting around doing nothing really. Why not? They're good at it. Kine, Chris, Pietro, and Blob were playing cards. Lance was reading the newspaper and Toad was watching television.

Mystique walked into the living room. "Well, I'm glad to see you're all working hard to built a bigger, brighter tomorrow." she grunted. "Excuse us if there's nothing to do." replied Kine. Then Mystique noticed they were missing someone.

"Where's John?" she demanded. The boys gulped. "Uhh, he took off." replied Pietro. "Where?" she growled, getting impatient. "Uhh…he kind of quit." gulped Pietro.

"WHAT?!" yelled Mystique. "Said something about not taking orders from a…you know what, I'm not going to repeat what he said." said Fred. Mystique was furious but then calmed herself down.

"Fine, I'll deal with him later. Right now we have bigger things to deal with. Magneto had abducted Wolverine." said Mystique.

The boys looked at her as if she were insane. "That's crazy. Why would he do that?" said Lance. "Why indeed. Pietro, he's your father." said Mystique, now turning to the silver haired speedster.

"Don't try to understand him, believe me I tried my life to do it and I've only gotten headaches." grumbled Pietro. Wanda, who heard the conversation, entered the room.

"He actually snatched one of the X-Men. He would only do that unless there was something bigger going on. Which means now I'm forced to make my move." said Mystique. The others stared at her confused.

Another orange splatter, another member bites the dust. For the past half an hour, Xavier had been putting the X-Men through the roughest training session ever. So far, all the New Mutants with the exception of Amara have been eliminated along with Rogue.

Inside the Danger Room, the survivors were struggling against multiple metallic objects firing orange juice globs at them. Cyclops managed to blast a few of them but they kept on coming. Finally, the last of them were destroyed but they just lost Kurt.

"You're stalling Cyclops. Magneto won't be sitting around for you to decide tactics. Make a move or relinquish command to Jean." ordered Xavier over the intercom.

"Okay, we're going to rush him." ordered Scott. "You sure about that?" gulped Evan. "Just go!" ordered Scott. The others nodded and got into position. A figure completely encased in metal stood over a ridge, waiting.

"Now!" yelled Scott. The remaining X-Men all charged forward. Cyclops fired an optic blast at the figure. The blast took off the top half of the shell. The problem was there was nobody inside of it.

"It's a trap!" yelled Jean. They realized their mistake too late when suddenly the ground beneath them began to crack and metallic bars wrapped around their legs. More drones showed up and fired away, finishing them all off.

"I want to see you all in the planning room now!" said a furious Xavier over the intercom. The students all groaned, knowing they did terrible. The restraints on their legs released them and Lorna stepped out from behind a boulder. She shrugged at them before they headed to the planning room.

* * *

"You rushed him! Like you were going to take him by surprise?" said an angry Xavier. The students had never seen him like this and it frightened some of them.

"But Professor…" Scott tried to say before he was cut off. "Magneto is always two steps ahead of you. You'll never take him by surprise ever." said Xavier, glaring at Summers.

"Excuse me Professor but what is going on? You've never driven us this hard." said Summers. "I had to see. I had to confirm my fears. It's clear that none of you are ready to go up against Magneto." answered Xavier.

"I disagree. And with all due respect, Lorna should be with us in the simulations. Not attacking us." said Summers, who was somewhat agitated but trying to suppress it.

"Let's get two things clear Scott. First, Lorna is the closest thing you will get to fighting someone like Magneto. And second, you couldn't even take care of the Brotherhood. If you think Lorna is powerful know this. I've seen the full extent of Magneto's power and when unleashed, it dwarfs even Lorna's." responded Xavier.

That didn't really comfort any of his students. "You younger students are too inexperienced. You'll jeopardize the mission so I'm left with a need to bolster your ranks." Xavier continued before heading towards the elevator.

"Therefore, I would like you all to welcome your new teammates." Xavier said before opening it. Inside, much to the surprise of the X-Men, were the Brotherhood (minus Pyro). "Hi losers." said Kine.

The X-Men all started yelling all at once. "This a joke right?" "No way!" "You want us to work with them?" "Not a chance!" These were all pretty much everybody's responses.

"Professor you can't be serious. After what they just did to us…" Kitty started to say before Pietro zoomed beside her. "Hey, we won you lost. Get over it." he chuckled. She tried to smack him but he zipped away.

"Look, I know this will be difficult for some of you. But despite your personal feelings, we face tremendous odds going against Magneto and we will be a much stronger team with their help." said Xavier, trying to defuse the situation. Of course, it didn't really help.

"Why you guys volunteering anyway for this anyway? You don't like us anymore then we don't like you." shot Daniels. "We've got our reasons." smirked Pietro. "Yeah, maybe it's be kind to losers week." chuckled Toad.

"Where's John?" asked Amara. The Brotherhood gasped but regained their composure. "Uhh…he's taking a vacation…or something." said Kine, not very convincingly. Pietro was quick to change the subject. "Alright listen kiddies. It's obvious you people need our help if you're going to survive." said Pietro.

"And we'll start with the biggest problem of them all, your leader." said Lance. "Rush in and hope you can overwhelm him? How stupid are you? Haven't you ever seen any Godzilla movies? In each one of them, the army swarms all around Godzilla and get wasted. Why? Because they are out of their league. Same thing applies when dealing with someone as powerful as Magneto." explained Fred.

"Wow, that was pretty good Fred." commented Chris. "Thank you. Public speaking classes really do work." quipped Fred. "As we were saying, you people really need a new team leader." said Lance.

"Oh yeah, well guess what shakedown? You can have the job, I'm done with this." growled Summers heading towards the elevator. "Scott." said Jean, going to stop him.

"Let him go Jean." said Xavier. Those words caught her off guard. "Let him go?" she said, not believing what she just heard. "Time is of the essence. Right now, we must continue training while you resume your efforts on Cerebro. If we find Wolverine, we find Magneto." he continued.

* * *

Sinister couldn't believe his ears when he heard Mystique's voice on the other end. "I'm starting to think you've been avoiding me." he grunted.

"Listen Essex, I need all of the Marauders with me. With the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Marauders I can defeat Magneto." said Mystique. Essex wasn't sure what he thought was crazier. Thinking that the Marauders would ever work with the X-Men or that Mystique thinks he would just hand them over to her.

"I think that shape shifting ability is messing with your brain." chuckled Essex. "You said it yourself, Magneto is a threat. He needs to be dealt with NOW!" yelled Mystique. Essex wasn't intimidated. "Let's get one thing clear my dear. I agree that Magneto is problem but I will not start a war with someone like him. My research at the moment takes priority over personal vendettas." said Essex.

"I have the perfect opportunity to get rid of him and you just toss it aside?" growled Mystique.

"Goodbye Raven. I believe that our business is hereby concluded." he said, about to hang up the phone. "WAIT! I might be able to help you get new genetic materials." said Mystique.

"Go on." snickered Essex. "The New Mutants are a bunch of spoiled little mutant brats. I won't mind if something happens to them when we go after Magneto." explained Mystique.

"Are you offering them to me?" asked Sinister. "Yes. I'll give you the access codes to the security systems. You'll be able to walk right. They've been trained but they'll be no match for your troops." answered Mystique.

"I see. Very well, you have a deal. The New Mutants for our continuing partnership." said Essex. "Good. I'll contact when we leave." Mystique said before hanging up.

Essex sent a telepathic summoning to Arclight. The Marauder quickly entered the room, knowing never to keep the boss waiting. "You called boss?" he said. "Get the others ready, you're going mutant hunting." smiled Sinister.

* * *

At an abandoned warehouse district, seven metal orbs descended from the sky. Each landing next to each other with the largest one in the center. One by one, each of them began to open.

First, Victor Creed "Sabertooth" emerged. His claws sharpened, his eyes ready for battle. Remy LeBeau "Gambit" was next. He shuffled a deck of playing cards in his hands. In the next orb was Clarice Ferguson "Blink". She didn't really need to travel this way but she preferred to stay with the others in case something happened. He had knifes and harpoons on her belt, just waiting to use them.

On the opposite side, Piotr Rasputin "Colossus" converted his body to it's steel form. Next to him was Neena Thurman "Domino". She had pale skin, short black hair, and a black spot on her skin that surrounded her left eye. Her body was covered with weapons from pistols to a sniper rifles to two daggers on her belt along with grenades, flashbangs. She was literally a one woman army. She tossed her sniper rifle back into the orb, not wanting to miss the chance for a close up fight. She grabbed her dual pistols and twirled them expertly with her fingers.

Next came Paris Bennett "Exodus". He had red skin and long black hair. He wore a cape that was attached to a moon shaped ornament that he wore on his shoulders. He stepped forward, his sheer presence giving off the feeling of power.

And finally the largest orb opened, revealing Magneto. The powerful leader of the Acolytes, he stepped out and walked forward. The others followed him as they prepared for battle. "They will come soon, I'm sure of it." said Magneto.

The others quickly all ran to secure the area, making sure they were ready for the X-Men and Brotherhood. "Mystique wants a war, then I will give her one." Magneto said to himself. Exodus walked up beside him. "And what of Lorna Eric?" he asked.

"I have already planted the seeds of doubt within her. She will join us soon enough but should she choose differently then you know what to do." said Magneto. Exodus nodded. Normally Magneto hated anyone calling him by his real name. But Paris was an old friend that Eric respected.

"It is time old friend. The war is inevitable. We strike first and catch the humans off guard. The whole world will know of us and fear us. And they will do for good reason. Because when this war is over, it will be the humans that will be trampled beneath our heels." said Magneto.

(Okay, I have a lot to say so I'll just say it. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thank you rogue-scholar07 for suggesting Domino. I was mentally kicking myself for not thinking of her sooner. Thank you GHoST213 for suggesting Exodus. The truth was I didn't even know about him until you suggest him. I looked him up and wanted to use him not just as an acolyte but also as Magneto's second in command and friend. He's too powerful to be just be a simple soldier. Thank you decdragon for wanting me to not have Pietro betray the Brotherhood. The truth was I hated Quicksilver betraying the Brotherhood too and your review got me thinking of a way to change that. And gutsman589, you blew me away when you said this is your favorite story. I never considered myself to be a great writer and hearing someone liking my story always moves me. Thank you all once again. Next chapter is Day of Reckoning part II. The X-Men and Brotherhood battle the Acolytes, the Marauders attack the mansion, mutants are shown to the world, Sentinels, explosions, drama, all the perfect things for a summer blockbuster. After the next chapter, we're heading into Season Three of Evolution and things are going to be really different. Bye for now.)


	28. Day of Reckoning part 2

(This is one of the longest chapters I have ever written. And the funny thing is that I managed to do pretty much all in one day. Okay, I'm not bragging but with college and work, finding time to sit down and type on my computer isn't easy. Bah! Enough of that. Time for Day of Reckoning part 2 and trust me, it's a blast.)

At the Institute, the X-Men and Brotherhood just finished another grueling session. "I can't feel my arms." moaned Toad as everyone exited the Danger room. "Quit whining Toad." grumbled Daniels.

Xavier wheeled up to all of them. "You're all still slacking. If Lorna or Wanda weren't with you, you would have never passed that simulation. Take five minutes then we'll start over." he said. Then he left before the students had a chance to complain.

"Ah can't believe this." groaned Rogue. "What's a matter skunky? Break a nail?" chuckled Kine. Rogue was about to hit him when Kurt stopped her. "Hey fearless leader, care to defuse the situation?" mocked Alex. Lance glared at him.

"Hey! At least I don't run away from my problems like your brother." Lance shot back. Alex charged up, ready to attack. Lorna quickly got in the way. "All right that's enough all of you. We need to be ready for Magneto otherwise we'll never get Wolverine back." she said to the X-Men. That got them to calm down.

Wanda kept her eyes trained on Lorna. She had Magneto's powers which meant she had to at least be related to him in some way. Wanda turned to Pietro. "Did father have another daughter?" she whispered to him.

"What? How should I know?" he whispered back. "You're telling me you don't think it's a coincidence that she has the same powers as father." Wanda replied. "Of course, that's why I never asked out on a date." shrugged Pietro. Wanda groaned. "You're an idiot." she said before walking away.

"Care to explain why you didn't help us back in there?" Kurt growled at Alvers. "What are you talking about?" he said, getting in Kurt's face. "When that four legged…whatever it was attacked me, you could have brought that thing down but you did nothing. In fact, you haven't used your powers at all during all of the sessions." continued Kurt.

"Shut up!" yelled Lance, storming off.

* * *

The teams were now in the X-M Velocity (the helicopter that has no metal in it what so ever). Storm and Xavier were arguing up front, Lance and Kitty were talking in the back.

"Lance, Kurt was right you know. You didn't use any of your powers when we were in the Danger Room." whispered Kitty. Lance groaned, not wanting to get into this conversation. "We're about to go up against Magneto so I need to know what is going on with you." continued Kitty.

Lance sighed. "Okay…I just haven't been able to bring myself to use my powers ever since." he said before stopping. "Your mother." Kitty said, finishing up his thoughts. "Yeah." he groaned. Kitty touched his shoulder, as if to say everything's going to be okay.

Wanda meanwhile, intentionally sat down next to Lorna. "Who are your parents?" asked Wanda. Lorna knew exactly where this was going. "You want to know if Magneto is my father right?" she asked. Wanda nodded. "Yes, he is." Lorna said, making sure no one else but Wanda heard it.

Wanda's eyes widened. It's not everyday you meet the sister you never knew even existed. "Has he approached you?" Wanda asked. Lorna nodded. "Don't trust him. He threw me away like garbage. He'll do the same to you." Wanda said. Lorna pondered this as the chopper took off.

Back in the hanger, Amara came running inside. "Wait!" she yelled. But it was no use, they were gone. She was hoping to convince Xavier to let her come but that was out of the question now. She headed back upstairs to the main foyer when suddenly the intruder alarm went off.

Before she knew what was even happening, the entire mansion began to seal itself off. She quickly ran to the front door and managed to leap through before it too was closed off.

Cannonball tried to follow but just ended up denting the wall. Amara stood outside, not sure what to do when the cannons activated and targeted her. Suddenly fireballs began hitting the cannons, melting them.

Amara turned to see John at the gate, frying any cannon that popped up. "This way luv." he said. Amara quickly ran towards, avoiding the various cannon fire. The two ran past the melted gates (Pyro's handiwork) to Lance's jeep.

The two jumped in and drove off. "What's going on? It's like World War III back there." said John. "I don't know. One minute everything was fine, the next minute the whole mansion goes insane." replied Amara.

The jeep passed by two black vans that were heading towards the Institute. They parked just outside and out stepped the Marauders all dressed for combat. Scalphunter approached the entrance interface and plugged in a computer.

He quickly typed away and within seconds, all the turrets outside deactivated. "Looks like the green meanie kept up her end of the deal." said Scalphunter.

"Alright remember. The boss wants all the mutants here. Alive if possible. Dead…just as good." snickered Arclight.

* * *

Scott Summers was sitting on the hood of his car, looking off into the distance. Rocter's Ridge was always a favorite get away spot for him but right now he was concentrating on what happened back at the mansion.

He has known the Professor most of his life and the person that was running them through those simulations was not the same man. Scott would have kept pondering this if it weren't for Lance's jeep parked next to his car with John driving and Amara a passenger.

"There you are you whining bloke. We've been looking everywhere for you." said John. "The mansion's gone nuts. The cannons are shooting everything that move and the whole place has been locked down." said Amara.

It took Summers a second to realize what that meant. "Defcon 4." he said. "Defcon? We going to war with Russians or something?" asked John. "It's an alert condition. Defcon 4 means the mansion is under full lock down from a major assault. But this doesn't make any sense." said Summers.

"Excuse me, but could we figure this out on the way?" suggested John. The three got into Alver's jeep and drove off towards the Mansion. "I was on my way to drop a dime to all of you about Mystique when…" explained John.

"Wait a minute? Mystique's back?" said a stunned Summers. "Yeah, the witch broke Wanda out of the nuthouse and is now large and in charge. She's the one who ordered all the others to attack you fellas at the mall." said John.

"Wait a minute…Mystique is back with the Brotherhood but now they're helping us…Something very wrong is going on here." said Summers. "You're telling me." replied John.

* * *

The X-Men and Brotherhood arrived at a warehouse district on the edge of the Bayville Harbor. The place was deserted so they didn't have to worry about innocent bystanders seeing them.

The chopper just landed and everybody was getting out when Jean sensed something. She walked over a small storage compartment and opened it. Inside was Sarah Vale, gulping now that she's been caught.

"What are you going here?" demanded Jean. "I thought I could help." she said. Xavier was furious. "Why are you here? I told you and the rest of the new mutants to stay at the mansion! You're not good enough to help here!" berated Xavier. Vale lowered her head, embarrassed.

"What is with him?" Lorna whispered to Spyke. He was just as surprised as seeing the professor acting like this as everyone else was. "You stay here and don't touch anything." Xavier ordered Network. She nodded.

They split up into teams, searching the area for any sign of Magneto or his followers. Pietro quickly zoomed around the area but found nothing. "I think we missed the party." he told Lance.

"Man, I'm starting to get creeped out here." replied Alvers. Pietro knew it was a trap, he just knew it. He suspected that Wanda knew it as well. Still, everybody probably thinking the same thing so speaking up was just pointless.

Kurt finished checking all the metal orbs which were empty. "Ya know, ah don't get this." said Rogue. "Yeah, they've got to know we're here." said Spyke. Kurt teleported next to them. "Now what? No sign of them." he said.

No sooner did he say this, a card glowing with purple energy floated through the air like a leave right down in front of them. They were a little mesmerized at first. Then Jean's eyes widened. "Run!" she yelled. Everyone quickly bolted before the card exploded.

The other teams saw the explosion from a distance. "Let's go." ordered Beast. Everyone charged forward except Wanda and Pietro. They turned around to see something happening. A massive energy field was surrounding the entire warehouse district.

"It's a trap!" yelled Wanda. Everything metallic rose into the air and moved to the sides, creating a large open space. A nearby warehouse was ripped completely apart, it's metallic structure dissecting itself. Standing in what was the warehouse stood the Acolytes (minus Exodus).

Gambit began tossing energized cards. The X-Men and Brotherhood quickly dispersed and charged forward with Beast in the lead. Sabertooth leaped forward and tackled him right out of the air.

Spyke fired his spikes at Domino who easily evaded them. She aimed one of her pistols and fired. The shot hit Evan right in the chest. He fell to the ground groaning. "Evan!" yelled Jean who quickly checked on him. Though in pain, he wasn't bleeding. "No blood." said Jean.

"Of course there's no blood. I'm only using rubber bullets. Not lethal but they pack a punch." replied Domino. She fired at Jean who deflected the bullets away. Enraged by Evan's injury, Storm summoned dark clouds overhead.

She sent lightning bolts down on Domino. But much to Monroe's surprise, Domino avoided each and every bolt of electricity. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be hit. It was like the lightning was intently arcing away from her at the last second.

Domino fired a shot at Storm, hitting her square in the gut. Storm fell to the ground but Jean lowered her gently with telekinesis. She then sent a telekinetic blast that sent Domino flying away.

Kurt found himself fighting Blink. He tried various karate moves but the red skinned teleporter easily avoided each blow. Then she grabbed Kurt by the shoulders and teleported away. The next thing he knew, Nightcrawler found himself falling into a wide open grass field. He glanced around to see a barn off into the distance. "We're about twenty miles out from the city. I suggest you hustle back." mocked Blink who teleported away.

* * *

Outside the mansion, the Marauders approached the mansion. Scalphunter walked up the metallic wall covering the door and touched it. His mutant power allowed him to alter the electronic mechanics inside of it. The covering opened up, the mansion now opened to them.

"Let's go." said Arclight. They entered the main foyer. "Blockbuster. You stay here and make sure nobody gets out." ordered Arclight. The large man nodded and the Marauders split up into teams.

In the basement, Bobby and the other New Mutants were in the control room trying to turn off the lock down. "It's no good." grumbled Bobby, giving up with the computer. "Out of the way, I'm gonna fry this turkey." said Ray, charging up.

"Whoa! I may be new here but I'm pretty sure that blowing things up doesn't usually fix things." said Alex, stopping him. "Uhh, guys. We've got company." said Jamie, pointing to the interior cameras. On the screens were various people they've never seen before and they did not look friendly.

"Not good. We've got to get out of here." said Jubilee. "How? The only way out is being guarded by Arnold Schwarzenegger's ugly cousin." said Sam, pointing the camera footage of Blockbuster. "Well staying here isn't an option so let's move." said Bobby.

They ran down into the hallway, only to have a large wall of flames coming toward them. They all jump back inside. The fire dissipates, with Scalphunter and Arclight standing now in the hallway.

"Do we really want to put up having these brats around? I mean, we have enough trouble with just Vanessa." said Scalphunter. "Good point." said Arclight who slammed his fist into the ground. The ceiling collapsed around the control room door, sealing everyone inside.

"That'll keep 'em inside. We'll gather tissues and haircombs for the genetic samples. The boss doesn't care how we get 'em just as long as we got something. Set the self destruct, we'll blow these brats up with the mansion." smiled Arclight. An evil grin formed on Scalphunter's face.

At the entrance of the mansion, Blockbuster was standing guard. Suddenly, an optic blast sent flying through the air and crashed right through the stairs. Cyclops, Amara, and Pyro came running inside. "Where are the others?" asked Amara.

"They're probably in the subbasement. It's where all the students are supposed to go when the mansion is under attack." replied Summers. The three quickly ran to the elevator and took it down. Meanwhile, the Marauders were all entering the foyer with various wastebaskets and combs. The point being they all contained genetic material.

They noticed Blockbuster getting to his feet. "What happened?" asked Vertigo. "I got jumped from behind. Whoever did it is going to pay." growled Blockbuster. He was about to charge at the elevator when the others stopped him.

"Forget about 'em. They're about to be toast." said Harpoon. "Let's blow this dump." agreed George. "Scalp, set it off." ordered Arclight. Scalphunter nodded and pulled out his laptop. "Fireworks begin in two minutes." he said.

"Then let's get out of here." said Ruckus. The Marauders all quickly ran out.

* * *

Alex tried to blast through the door but it was no good. Whatever metal the Professor made this out of was extremely strong. "Out of way! Time for a little badda bing badda boom!" yelled Tabitha, charging up an energy bomb.

"Don't! The only kind of bomb that could blow through that door is one that would probably blow us too!" yelled Bobby.

"Hey guys, look at this. I think you aught to see it." said Jamie who was watching old security footage.

Outside, Amara and John use their powers to melt all the debris around the door. It took a few minutes but they got the job done. "Bobby! If you're in there, we need you to cool the ground out here!" yelled Summers.

Everybody breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that. Bobby opened the door and using his powers to cool the floor around them. "We need to get you all out of here." said Scott. "There's no time! The institute's gonna blow in less then a minute." said a panicked Jubilee.

"What are we going to do?" yelled Bobby. Scott thought for a moment. "Follow me!" he yelled.

* * *

The fight wasn't going well for the X-Men and Brotherhood. Though the Acolytes were out numbered, they were far better trained. Lorna was completely useless since Magneto would block any of her attempts to create a magnetic field. And Wanda wasn't even interested in the fight, she kept glancing at nearby rooftops looking for her father.

Blob managed to knock down Colossus and Kitty sunk his body into the ground. "Lance! Drop the building on him." said Blob. Lance would have liked too but he couldn't. It's like his body was fighting him, resisting to use his power.

"Lance, what are you waiting for?" asked Kitty as Colossus started to get free. Lance couldn't believe it. Ever since his mother died, he's been unable to use his powers. At first, he just refused to them. Now, it's like his body fights him every time he tries. Sabertooth and Beast came crashing down from the top of a crane.

Rogue managed to hide behind some shipping containers. She heard someone getting closer and pulled her gloves off. She jumped out to see the person was waiting for her, Gambit. He stood there with an energized card about to throw it at her but stopped himself.

He was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. His shock quickly turned to a charming smile. He de-energized the card and handed it to her. Rogue was so stunned, she just took it. Gambit winked at her then ran off. Rogue let out a happy sigh.

Quicksilver managed to deliver some quick hit and run attacks on Gambit and Sabertooth but Domino, thanks to her luck powers, simply stepped aside and Pietro tripped over her foot, crashing into a wall.

Nightcrawler managed to get back from his long return trip, only for Blink to knock him down from behind. She also managed to deliver some painful blows to Pusher and Static.

Toad started hopping around Domino, taunting her. "Hit the Toad and win the prize! Miss and you're body slammed!" he laughed. Todd leaped towards her. Domino simply raised one of her pistols and fired a bullet that hit Toad right on the forehead. She stepped aside as Toad came crashing down, moaning. "I think I'll pass on the prize." mocked Domino.

Wanda continued scanning the rooftops until she finally saw him. Magneto stood side by side with Exodus on a nearby skyscraper. Thoughts of her father abandoning her at the asylum filled her with rage. Building walls around her began to crack. The ground vibrated, with sewage pipes popping out.

Storm noticed what she was glancing at. "It's Magneto!" she yelled, pointing to there target. The X-Men and Brotherhood abandoned their battle with the Acolytes and ran towards Magneto's position. The Acolytes didn't follow them however, falling back to the orbs.

On top of the skyscraper, Magneto and Exodus watched as Wanda began using her powers to try and break a hole through Exodus's shield. "That won't hold her for long." Exodus said.

"It won't have it. It's time to move this along." said Magneto. He used his magnetic powers began breaking the ground beneath everyone which wasn't dirt but metal. The ground cracked and shattered, revealing a massive underground shaft. The X-Men and Brotherhood all fell into it. All except for Lorna. Magneto allowed her to use enough magnetism to float herself but that was all.

Down in the shaft, the mutants began to regain their senses when they saw a dozen soldiers aiming rifles at them. But before they fired, Trask entered the room. "Hold your fire." he ordered. Then they felt it, a series of seismic tremors that could only come from one thing. Footsteps. "Operatives, move out." ordered Trask. The humans quickly dispersed just before a giant five story humanoid robot broke into the room.

* * *

Back at the skyscraper rooftop, Magneto ordered the Acolytes to leave, except for Blink. He sent them away with the metallic orbs. Blink teleported above the giant hole in the ground. She then teleported back to him. "He released the Sentinel." she reported.

"Excellent. You may go." said Magneto. Blink nodded then teleported away. "And now the whole world will know of us." Magneto told Exodus. "Then I will take care of the rest." he replied. Exodus levitated himself and flew towards the warehouse district.

* * *

Before the robot could even harm the mutants, Magneto began to lift the floor beneath them. Trask couldn't believe his eyes. "NO!" he yelled. "Dr. Trask! We have an intruder!" reported a frightened soldier. Trask checked a nearby computer for security footage.

He watched Exodus easily take out any soldier that gets in his way. "The mutant is heading for the manufacturing plant." reported the soldier. Trask didn't want to admit defeat but this was a hopeless battle. "Tell the men to evacuate." ordered Trask.

In the large manufacturing room, Exodus floated inside. He sent a powerful telekinetic blast that sent two attacking soldiers flying away. He glanced around the room. This room will never build these barbaric machines again!

He used his telekinesis to begin ripping the planet apart. Conveyor belts, cranes, machines, all began to crack and shatter. In the moments, the entire room was nothing but metallic debris.

* * *

Out on the streets, the X-Men and Brotherhood struggle to survive against the attacking Sentinel. "Where's Lorna?!" yelled Storm. "Don't know, I don't see her anywhere!" said Spyke as he avoided a laser blast.

Kitty was trying to wake up Network. She was running in from the chopper to help when a blast sent her flying into a streetlamp, head first. "Stand back. I'm going to have to borrow her powers." said Rogue, pulling off her gloves. "Look out!" yelled Kitty.

Rogue didn't have time to react before the Sentinel blast statis slime on her. Kitty pulled Sarah away while the Sentinel was distracted sliming Blob, Spyke, and Beast.

The Sentinel then turned it's attention towards Magneto who was holding back the military choppers. He didn't notice Wanda sneaking up behind him and blasting him with a hex bolt.

He felt to the ground. "Hello father." Wanda said with ice in her voice. "Wanda, not now." said Magneto, getting to his feet. "You locked me away." growled Wanda, using a hex bolt to disable his powers.

"You gave me no choice. You couldn't control your anger." he said. "You haven't seen me angry until NOW!" yelled Wanda, sending a hex bolt that hurled Magneto into a pillar. He glanced up to see the Sentinel now hovering over the building.

"Wanda! Don't do this!" he yelled. Suddenly, the Sentinel was hurled back to the ground by an unseen force. Metallic pieces began flying onto and attaching over Wanda's hand, restraining them and preventing her from using her powers.

Wanda turned around to see Lorna standing in the stairwell. "He's our father Wanda. I can't let you kill him." she said. "AAAAH!" yelled Wanda in frustration. "Look out!" yelled Magneto. Lorna noticed it too late to see incoming missiles from the Sentinel.

The missiles impacted the building, the blast knocking Wanda off the ledge. She screamed as she fell towards the ground. Lucky for her, Kurt teleported up to her and teleported back holding her.

The Sentinel got to it's feet and began firing at the mutants once more. An explosion shattered a fire hydrant, spraying water everywhere. Finally, Network regained consciousness. "What happened?" she moaned. "Stop that thing Sarah!" yelled Kurt, avoiding getting slimed by the machine.

Quicksilver managed to distract it, constantly zipping from one spot to the next. The Sentinel always missed him. "C'mon tin can. Can't hit me. I'm too fact for you!" laughed Pietro.

Sarah stepped forward and concentrated. The Sentinel froze. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a nearby power line fell due to damage it sustained. It fell on top of a puddle that was connected to where Sarah was standing.

Sarah screamed as volts of electricity coursed through her body. The Sentinel began to twitch and short circuit nearby. Jean used her powers to pull Sarah out of the puddle. The Sentinel dropped to the ground right on it's face. Sarah also fell once Jean released her, unconscious.

"Sarah!" yelled Kitty. The others quickly checked on her condition. "Her pulse is weak." said Beast, touching her neck. The XM chopper landed nearby. "Get in! Now!" ordered Xavier over the intercom.

"But what about the others?" said Jean. "We'll have to come back for them." replied Xavier. Military tanks and jeeps began to converge on them. Attack helicopters filled the sky. Everyone quickly got in and the chopper took off, with military choppers in pursuit.

* * *

They managed to evade the choppers only to find the Institute destroyed. Everyone was horrified at what they saw. They landed and everyone disembarked. "Bobby! Amara!" Jean yelled out, hoping for a response.

"Over here." said Bobby as the New Mutants along with Cyclops and Pyro came out of the nearby woods. Cyclops had murder in his eyes. Jean rushed towards and hugged him. But to her surprise, he pulled her off him and walked past her. "Scott got us into the Cerebro room just in time. It held up barely." said Sam.

Scott walked up to Xavier and grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him up. "You did this!" he yelled before tossing the Professor to the ground. To everyone's surprise, Xavier laughed and stood up on his feet. Then shapeshifted into Mystique. "Yes I did do this. And now things are about to get much worse." she said with a smirk on her face.

(The fight scene with X-Men, Acolytes, and Brotherhood is my favorite one I have written yet. I tried to include everybody but I didn't want to drag it out as well. Domino kicked some serious butt in this chapter as did Exodus. Expect me to use them a lot more in future chapters as well as the other Acolytes.)

(Okay, how about a little preview of Season Three. X-Men and Brotherhood rescue their comrades, something is happening to Network, the X-Men face old enemies and find an unlikely ally. I know, that's not very helpful but I don't want to spoil the surprises I have in store for it. I'll try to post the next chap soon. Ciao!)


	29. Day of Recovery

(Onto to Season three. For this chapter, I was detailed in some places and somewhat brief with others. The rescue from Area 51 in my opinion didn't really to be covered, I just kinda skipped over it. Now for Day of Recovery.)

All the X-Men stood in shock which quickly turned to anger. "It was you. You did this. I saw it on the security footage. You set the Institute on lockdown. Whoever those people who attacked the mansion had the access codes to disable the security systems. And since you rewrote them, you were the only one who knew them." hissed Summers.

It didn't take long before everyone figured out what that meant. "You let this happened?" said a stunned Alvers. Obviously he wasn't in on that part of the plan. "Of course I did. It was about time they got knocked down a peg." replied Mystique.

"How long have you been impersonating the Professor? Where is he?" demanded Storm. All the X-Men and New Mutants started yelling at once. The Brotherhood moved in front of Mystique, blocking anyone from getting to her.

"Why you defending this green piece of trash?" Pyro asked the Brotherhood. Mystique growled at John then noticed Jean. "Don't bother trying to probe my mind. It won't work." Mystique said. Jean sighed. "She's blocking me somehow. I'm not getting anything." she said.

Summers stepped forward, his hands reaching for his visor. "Then she better start unblocking now!" he yelled. But Mystique wasn't intimidated. "If you ever want to see Xavier you will back off." she replied.

Then everyone heard sounds off in the distance. The sound of police sirens, helicopters. A large group of police cars and military jeeps entered the Institute yard, quick to surround all the mutants. Choppers flew overhead.

The cops were quick to exit their vehicles. "Everyone freeze!" yelled one of them. "No problemo." said Bobby who froze a track of land that three officers slipped on. "That pun sucked." muttered John before everyone quickly scattered.

The police and military had difficulty catching any mutant. Storm blew the choppers away, Wanda destroyed a lot of weapons, Toad slimed a bunch, in others words everybody got away.

* * *

The New Mutants made their way into the sewers were Berserker said they could hide. It wasn't the best looking place around (not to mention the smell) but it was better then nothing. "A little paint, a little paper. This place could be down right spooky." remarked Tabitha.

Suddenly, a pale thin man (Caliban) dropped down from the ceiling in front of them. His body had no hair whatsoever. "Sssstop. What bussssinesss bringsss you here?" he demanded. Something growled behind them. The New Mutants turned around to see a massive dragon-like creature (Scaleface) blocking their way out.

"Well well well. If it isn't our old friend Ray." said a female voice in the shadows. A woman with short black hair and an eye patch over her right eye (Callisto) emerged from her hiding place. A scaly man (Fascade) appeared on the wall, deactivating his camouflage. A large ugly man in a military vest (Sunder) stepped out of hiding as well.

"Uhh…Hi guys." stuttered Ray. "They don't look happy to see you." whispered Tabitha. "Why are you here? I thought you were happy with your precious topsiders." said Callisto, twirling a knife in her hand.

"Uh look guys. We need a place to hide. Everybody's hunting for us up top. We just need a place to hang for awhile." explained Ray. "Join the club." growled Sunder, smashing his fists together. "That's enough." said Callisto, signaling the others to back down. She glared at the New Mutants for a moment.

"You'll be safe here but don't expect a warm welcome. Follow me." she ordered.

* * *

Night came and Scott, Kurt, Jean, Kitty, Storm, Bobby, Alex, and John were all waiting at Lookout Point. It was supposed to be where everyone was supposed to meet but so many of them haven't shown up. All of them were silent, uncomfortable. But the most uncomfortable was John.

He hated having to be stuck with the X-Men. Just because he hated that wench Mystique didn't mean he was going to running back to geek squad. John wasn't sure what he was going to do after things were straightened out but he knew he wasn't going to stay with any of these losers.

Bobby heard a twig snapping behind him. He quickly turned around and fired an ice beam. Pietro dashed out of the way, zipped forward and knocked Bobby to the ground. "Hey!" yelled Summers. "He started it." snickered Pietro.

"That's enough." ordered Mystique as she and the other Brotherhood members stepped out of the bushes. Pietro zipped back over with the others. "Mystique, we want answers!" demanded Summers.

"When I'm ready. Look, I want you all to know I knew nothing about Magneto's plan to expose our little secret to the world. It's a new world out there and we're going to need new leadership. If nothing else, this public reaction proves Xavier was wrong. Humans and mutants cannot live together in peace." explained Mystique.

The X-Men didn't really care about her opinions though. "Why are you Mystique? What do you want from us?" demanded Jean. "I want the same thing you want. The military has taken one of my team and I want him back." replied Mystique. John scoffed when Mystique said team.

"The problem is I don't know where to start looking." continued Mystique. "Maybe I do." replied a voice from behind a tree. Out stepped Nick Fury with his familiar eye patch and SHIELD uniform.

"Uhh, I thought this was supposed to be a secret meeting." muttered Kine. "Who are you? What do you want?" demanded Mystique. "Nick Fury, agent of SHIELD. I've been tracking you for hours." he responded.

"Well Mister Fury, I suggest you forget where you found us." Mystique said before snapping her fingers. The Brotherhood moved towards him. Fury simply snapped his fingers and within seconds, the mutants were surrounded by heavily armed commandos.

"You think that's going to do you any good?" growled Wanda. Suddenly, a woman jumped out of the bushes nearby with a purple energy saber shape in her hand. She leaped forward and jabbed it into Wanda's head. The Scarlet Witch dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Wanda!" yelled Pietro, quickly checking her. "Relax. She's just unconscious. She'll wake up in about a minute." said the attacker. She had long purple hair and seemed to in her early twenties. "You'll have to forgive Agent Braddock. She doesn't take any chances." said Fury.

"You're a telepath." realized Jean. "What's it to you?" grunted Braddock with a British accent. "We didn't come here to fight. They're all here to show you that if I wanted you to be captured, you would be." said Fury.

"Then what do you want of us?" asked Storm. "To give you this. It contains maps and schematics of the military base where they're holding your friends. I think you'll find it useful." replied Fury, handing Storm a PDA.

"And just why are you being so helpful?" demanded Mystique. "Call it a favor for someone I owed." smirked Fury. And with that said, Fury walked away. Braddock and the rest of the soldiers also disappeared into the bushes.

Lance ran after them then came back a few seconds later. "They're gone. Think we can trust 'em?" he asked. Wanda regained consciousness and got to her feet.

"I don't know. I sensed he was telling the truth." answered Jean. "Good enough. We'll split up into team…" Storm started to say before Mystique swapped the PDA out of Storm's hands.

"I'll take that and I'll decide how we handle this." said Mystique. "What gives you the right?" growled Storm, thunder clouds began to form overhead. "Storm no! Remember the professor." said Jean, which calmed Ororo down.

"Wise counsel." muttered Mystique. "Personally I think you should have fried that wench." John said out loud, making sure Mystique heard him. He smiled at her reaction. Mystique decided to deal with him later.

"Alright, our first order of business is Magneto. We need to know whether he really perished. Knowing him, I highly doubt it. Lance, I want you to go into the city and find out what you can." ordered Mystique.

"Why me?" grunted Lance. "Because you're useless that's why. Toad right now is more valuable then you." growled Mystique. "Hey!" yelled Kitty. "You didn't do a thing back there against Magneto's goons. I am not going to have a useless loser like you slow everything down." said Mystique.

Lance growled but did nothing. "I'm going with him." said Wanda in a way that meant it wasn't a request, it was an order. "Fine, you'll both go." sighed Mystique. "Me three." said Alex. "Wait a minute…" protested Scott.

"Lorna was on that rooftop too. I need to know if she got out of there or not." explained Alex. "Can I go too?" asked Toad. "NO! Fine, you three go. The rest of us will plan a rescue mission." said Mystique.

* * *

Back in the city, Lance, Wanda, and Alex were on a rooftop near the one where Magneto supposedly met his demise. Lance was looking through a pair of binoculars but saw only debris. "I can't see anything over there." he said.

Alex took the binoculars and looked for himself. "The workers are still clearing out the debris but I don't see any stretchers. Which means they haven't found any bodies." said Alex. "I have to know." said Wanda. Alex looked down on the streets below and noticed a news van. "I think I might know how we can figure it out." he said.

The three made their way downstairs. "Why didn't you help us against Magneto?" Wanda asked Lance. "What are you talking about?" he grunted. "I mean, you're supposed to have a good power at least according to my moronic brother. And yet, you did nothing." Wanda pointed out.

"I…just couldn't alright?" growled Lance, wanting all of this to end. "Why?!" demanded Wanda. Alex was wise enough to stay out of this and Lance knew better then to ignore Wanda.

"I killed my mother with them, you happy now!" yelled Lance. That caught Wanda by surprise. "She attacked the X-Men and I used my powers to try and stop her. I didn't mean to kill her." he grunted. Wanda became uncomfortable talking about the subject and quickly dropped it.

At the news van, the three lured the editor out and knocked him unconscious. Lance sat down and began rewinding the tapes to yesterday's news. The three went over the tapes but saw nothing that answered whether Magneto or Lorna were still alive. They watched footage of the missiles hitting the rooftop over and over again.

Then Wanda noticed something. "Play it again in slow motion." she said. Lance did and they all noticed it. Just as the missiles hit, a large ball of energy seemed to fly out of the explosion. It was difficult to see, the missile blasts covered it very well.

"Can you zoom in?" asked Alex. Lance zoomed in on the ball of energy. Sure enough, there were two humanoid shapes inside of it. "That's gotta be them. They got out just in the nick of time." said Lance. "Lorna's alive." said a relieved Alex. "Magneto's alive!" yelled a furious Wanda. All the circuitry in the van exploded.

* * *

At Area 51, Major Glen Talbot was put in charge of handling everything involved in that freak vs. giant robot showdown. From the mutant taken prisoners to the robot that for some odd reason deactivated.

Right now, engineers were examining the robot while he had one of his captains taking care of the interrogations of the freaks. He was heading into the medical center where the newest mutant was just taken to. It was identified as Sarah Vale. Apparently, the freaks left her behind when they ran back at that Xavier Institute. No loyalty among their kind.

They stepped inside the patient room and found a doctor going over her EEG readouts. "What's it condition?" asked Talbot. "She's in a coma. I can't really explain it though. Her brain responds to stimuli and pain. She has a concussion but not severe enough to cause this." said the doctor.

"When will it be awake? I have people calling me every hour asking for any updates and I want to say I have something to report." said Talbot. "She's in a coma Major. She needs to rest, not put in an interrogation room." protested the doctor. "I have no choice, the rest of those things aren't cooperating and my superiors are loosing patience." said Talbot.

Talbot then leaned in closer to Vale. "Wake up you freak." he said to her unconscious body. He pulled out his lighter and snapped it on, putting the flame right underneath her nostrils.

In the Sentinel hanger, the engineers were shocked when suddenly the head turned sideways. They were frozen in place, not sure what they saw was a malfunction or if it was starting to wake up.

Back at the patient room, the doctor was furious. "Major enough! She can't hear you and doing this won't help!" yelled the doctor. "I'm going to get what I want to know out of you freak. How hard it has to be is up to you." growled Talbot.

In the hanger, the Sentinel's hands closed into a clenched fist. The engineers on top of the robot all jumped off in fear. "This thing's still alive!" yelled one of the engineers.

In the patient room, the doctor was relieved to see Talbot leave. The doctor didn't want to admit it to the Major but she couldn't be in a coma. Her EEG showed increased brain activity, not less like one would see in a coma. This just didn't make any sense.

He walked over to Sarah. "I'm sorry my dear. I wished I could have stopped him but if I tried he would have thrown me into the brig and gotten someone else to watch over you. And I'd rather you be taken care of someone who looks at you like a person rather then a thing." said the doctor.

In the hanger, the fists loosened. As if the robot was calming down.

* * *

The rescue went well at could be expected, until ice boy pulled another botch and set off the alarms. The X-Men and Brotherhood fought their way to their comrades and made their way towards the exit. Wolverine and Beast made it to the patient rooms and picked up Sarah before meeting up with others.

Seeing that they couldn't stop the mutants with soldiers, the army began sealing all the exits of the base. Of course, it was no problem when John melted through the doors and Bobby cooled the doorways enough to walk through.

Eventually, they got to a maintenance ladder that lead to the rooftop. Everyone made their way up top with Mystique being the last one. But before she could reach it, Cyclops slammed the steel grating shut.

"What are you doing!" yelled Mystique. "Where is Professor X?" demanded Summers. "Let me pass or you'll never see him again." threatened Mystique. Summers reached for the main hatch, ready to close it.

"Let me through! You haven't got the…" Mystique said before Summers slammed the hatch shut. "Hey! You lousy little!" yelled Fred, ready to attack Scott. "She got what she deserved." Summers shot back.

"Hey guys, kill each other later." said Jean. Fred grunted and walked towards the helicopter picking them up. John spit on the hatch as a last insult. "Hope they dissect ya!" he laughed before joining the others.

* * *

Sarah couldn't see, hear, feel, or smell anything. It felt like she was completely wrapped in darkness and nothingness. She began to panic but then a glimmer of light appeared in front of her. Within seconds, it felt like her whole body was coming alive.

She opened her eyes to see she was in a massive room. She heard an alarm going off. She quickly sat up, only to be shocked at what she saw. Her legs were shiny red metal. There were small midgets inspecting her feet who all screamed in horror at her awakening.

She held up her hands to look at them and they too were red and metal. What was happening? What was going on? She had to get out of there and fast.

She stood on her feet when a dozen armed but small soldiers ran into the room and began firing on her. It was odd but she didn't even feel the weapons fire bouncing off her body. Images flashed before her eyes as it seemed like her brain was scanning the soldiers, identifying their weapons and threat level.

Level 5, the lowest one could get. Guess they weren't much of a threat. Wait a minute? Since when could she scan things? And why was everyone so small? She moved towards the massive hanger doors and pushed the doors off the walls.

She stepped outside and to her horror, she was in what looked like a military base only miniaturized. She was starting to feel like she was in Gulliver's Travels. Several small tanks moved towards her. They fired on her but her armor protected her. Threat Level 4.

Acting on instinct, energy blasts were fired from her chest. The tanks were obliterated instantly. Sarah glanced down at her chest and for the first time, she recognized the weapon she just fired. It was from the Sentinel that attacked the X-Men and Brotherhood.

But that meant…No way! She was inside the Sentinel!

(Bet you didn't see that coming. Sarah's mind is in the Sentinel. Also a little cameo by Psylocke. I wanted to put here in this fic and make her a good guy but I didn't want her to join the X-Men. They already had enough people in my opinion. So I made her a SHIELD agent. For those of you expecting that big fight between the New Mutants and Marauders last chapter, I'm sorry. I was going to have it happen but then I got an idea that I liked so I'm going to spoil it. The Marauders are going to attack the Morlocks and the New Mutants are their only hope. But for the next chapter, the X-Men and Brotherhood separate and Sarah goes on a rampage looking for revenge.)


	30. Ghost in the Machine part 1

(Greetings once again. I hope I didn't keep any of you waiting. This will be a set up chapter since I didn't have a lot of time to work on it. Hope this at least gets you excited for the next chapter.)

Sarah let out a loud digitized shriek when the realization hit her. Her scream was so loud, all nearby soldiers and personal tried to cover their ears but it wasn't doing much. The soldiers began to retreat. Several fighter jets flied overhead and fired missiles down on her.

Her body automatically aimed at the incoming missiles and shot them down before they could reach her. She also fired a set of her own missiles back at the fighters which destroyed them. None of this made any sense.

How did this happen to her? She needed help. She needed to get back to the Institute. Acting on her train of thought, rockets opened up around her legs and she was fired into the air. The army fired at her but their weapons were useless. Her next stop, the Xavier Institute.

* * *

Storm landed the chopper and not a moment too soon. The X-Men and Brotherhood were practically at each other's throats when they met up with Lance, Alex, and Wanda.

"You should have seen it! He just shut the door and left her there." said Kine. "I was trying to get her to tell me where the Professor was." shot back Scott.

"Why didn't you just have Rogue touch her and take her memories?" asked Toad. Scott was silent, grumbling to himself. "Ha! You are an idiot." laughed John.

"If he wouldn't have done it, I would have." said Wolverine. "So you would have not found the Professor and blew your only chance to find him as well?" snickered Chris. Logan's claws popped out. "Watch your mouth punk." growled Logan.

Fred stepped in front of Logan, not intimidated. "Try something and you'll be the one getting a lesson in manners slim. Just remember the last time you and me fought, you needed skunko over there to save your butt." warned Blob.

Both sides were about ready to start blasting each other. "Calm down everyone. This isn't going to solve anything. We need to find the Professor." said Storm.

"Screw your Professor!" yelled Wanda. "Watch your mouth. The Professor was trying to help you remember." warned Rogue. "He left me to rot in that hellhole you call a hospital and wanted me to become his little puppet. Well screw him and screw all of you." growled Wanda. "You tell 'em sis." said Pietro, cheering her on.

"I'd rather have Mystique then baldy! I didn't like what she did to the mansion but at least she knows how things happen in the real world!" yelled Lance. "You actually want Mystique around!" yelled Kitty. "At least she had a plan that would at least keep us safe. What would Xavier's plan be? Surrender peacefully and hope the humans won't kill us!" Lance yelled back.

"We're through." said Kitty. "I can't believe I killed my mother for you people. Never again. We're through. If fact, I'm through with all you people." said Lance. "I motion that we the Brotherhood leave the X-Men to get themselves killed in defending that delusional peace concept of theirs." said Kine.

"Fine, get lost!" yelled Logan. "Gladly." said Chris. The Brotherhood all started walking away. When the X-Men were finally out of sight, the Brotherhood walked in silence for awhile.

John walked beside Lance. "You realize all of this means you and Kitty are probably done for. And me and Amara as well." said John. "Yeah, I know." sighed Lance.

* * *

At the Xavier Institute, Sarah landed right outside the mansion. The military and civilian personal all scattered. Sarah couldn't believe her eyes, the mansion was destroyed. No! What was going to do now? She pondered this question as she completely ignored the soldiers who were firing on her.

Getting angry, she turned to the soldiers and fired missiles at them. They all scattered when the missiles hit the ground and exploded, not actually killing anyone but injuring some.

The Professor…The X-Men…Her friends…They were all gone. And without them, she would be stuck inside this thing forever. "NOOO!" she yelled out in a digitized screech.

* * *

Logan led the rest of the X-Men to a hidden underground complex that was in the middle of the woods. "This place used to be an old HYDRA base but they packed up and left long ago. Chuck's been using this place as one of several safe houses just in case anything happened to the mansion." explained Logan.

The base wasn't half the size of the Mansion's subbasement but it had everything one would need only very Spartan like. Bunk beds were the only thing to sleep on. There was only one major computer console in the facility that controlled everything. It was all cheap but it was only meant to be used for a short time before moving on.

Storm approached Beast who was looking over Network. "Any change in her condition?" asked Monroe. "No. But there is something very odd about her EEG readings. They indicate higher then normal brain activity. There's more going on inside her head right now then when she's awake." said Beast.

"Any idea what's causing it?" asked Logan who was standing in the doorway. "No, but it must have been that shock she received during the fight with the Sentinel. Her condition is stable though. She's breathing on her own and doesn't need life support. Her body also responds to stimuli and pain so that's a good sign. But there's not much I can do for her at this point." explained Beast.

"How are things on the outside?" asked Beast. "The public's in a panic. Some think we're alien invaders. Others think we're freaks. But they pretty much all agree that we're a menace and that we should be hunted down." said Logan.

"Not exactly the future Charles wanted." muttered Beast. "They're just scared. We're going to have to show them all that we aren't a threat." said Storm. "Tell that to every news channel on the planet. They're all saying the same thing. Mutant menace." said Logan.

"Guys! We've got trouble." said Bobby, who came running in. "What is it?" asked Storm. "It's the Sentinel, it's alive and it was just at the Institute." said Bobby. The four ran to what could be considered the living room where everyone was gathered around watching a wireless handheld television monitor.

"Details are sketchy at this point but it is confirmed that the machine that fought with these mutants landed unexpectedly at the former Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. This is exclusive footage of the incident." said the reporter giving his report.

Video footage of the Sentinel landing outside the remains of the mansion. The Sentinel ignored all gunfire and yelled out a loud digitized "NOOO!" It dropped to it's knees at if it overcome with emotion. Then it got back up and fired it's leg rockets, hurling it into the air.

"Military and government officials have refused to comment on the incident. In other news, an emergency session of Congress has been called to discuss how to handle the mutant menace." the reporter continued before Wolverine shut off the device.

"Okay, that was weird." said Kitty. "Yeah, what the heck is going on with that thing?" said Kurt. Beast stood there for a moment, thinking and glancing back at Sarah's room. "Something wrong?" Summers asked, noticing Beast's reaction.

"This might sound crazy but…I think I might know what's going on." said McCoy. "What?" asked Jean. "I believe Sarah's consciousness is within the Sentinel." replied Beast. "WHAT?!" everybody all yelled at once.

"That's ridiculous." said Bobby. "No it isn't. Listen, right now Sarah is showing signs of increased brain activity, something that doesn't happen normally with a coma patient. She was controlling the Sentinel when she was shocked by that power line. Perhaps the shock created a link between their minds." said Beast.

"That's so ridiculous… that it's actually makes sense." said Alex. "That explains why she was at the Institute, she was looking for help." said Scott. "But we weren't there and now she's out there all alone." grumbled Logan.

"We've got to find her." said Jean. "How? It's a pretty big planet." said Spyke. "Alaska! She's heading to Alaska!" said Rogue. Everybody looked at her confused.

"Why Alaska?" asked Jean. "She has a little sister there, Jessica. She emailed her about every week." said Rogue. "Then let's move. We better get to her first before the army does." said Scott. "Yes…for their sake." said Storm.

* * *

Saying the past two days were bad was an understatement for Jessica Vale. The moment her sister's face popped up on the news, her stepparents went crazy and so did the neighbors. The house was constantly getting threatening phone calls and angry crowds were outside yelling various obscenities.

Jessie just couldn't understand why this was happening. She wasn't a mutant and yet she was being treated like one. Not of this made any sense, the Fantastic Four were treated like royalty when they got their powers and now when it's discovered that other people are born with special abilities, people hit the roof. Even her own stepparents were seemingly going mad, getting in constant arguing with each other.

Right now, her parents were arguing with someone at the door. Probably more federal agents with more questions. More and more of them keep coming with basically the same questions.

Suddenly something came crashing through the window in the next room, a Molotov cocktail. Within seconds, the room was filled with flames. Jessica quickly ran out the back door, only to find herself staring at a large mob.

"There she is!" one of them yelled. Jessica quickly ran as fast as she could as the mob chased after her. Why was this happening? She wasn't even a mutant. She would have kept running had a brick not hit her in the back.

She fell to the ground, curling up as the mob was about to swarm over her. Suddenly, she felt the ground shaking. It started to shake then stopped in a pattern, just like footsteps. The angry mob quickly turned to a horrified mob when a massive red robot walked onto the street.

"Leave her alone!" the robot said with…Sarah's voice? It brought it's massive fists down on the street, not hitting anyone but it was more about scaring them. It did the trick too because the mob quickly ran.

Jessica looked up at the robot in disbelief. "Sarah?" she said. "Jesse, it's me." it replied. Jessica couldn't believe this was really happening. "What happened to you?" asked Jessica. "It's a long story. I'll explain later. Right now I need to get you out of here." said the robot.

* * *

When the X-Men got to the area, Sarah and Jessica were long gone. Jean broke off from the team and used her telepathy to scan the minds of various people in the area. She got back with the others about an hour later.

"Anything?" asked Storm. "Yeah, she was here." said Jean. "I could have told you that just from the footprints." said Bobby, referring to the massive holes in the ground left by the Sentinel's feet.

"Did she really attack a group of pedestrians like they said on the news?" asked Kitty. "No, the people who said that were attacking Jessica. Sarah only scared them off to protect her." said Jean. "I knew it." said Rogue. "Of course, the media always lie." said Bobby.

"Any idea where they went?" asked Scott. "No, Sarah took Jessica and left." said Jean. "Well we won't be able to track them. That massive tin can uses some kind of radar interference technology. Makes it completely invisible to radar." said Logan.

"So what do we do next?" asked Kurt. "I really don't know." said Logan.

Sarah took Jessica to a massive underground hangar for some top secret base. Sarah found the place in the Sentinel's archive files. It was a backup factory for the Sentinels should the primary one be destroyed. She actually visited the place before she got Sarah and subdued the skeleton crew inside. Technically, all she did was automatically activate the halyon system which forced all the personal to evacuate into the main hanger where she shot them with her stasis slime.

"What happened to you?" Jessica asked as they entered the hanger. "I don't know. But they're all gone. The Professor…Rogue…all dead." said Sarah. "I'm sorry." said Jessica.

Sarah set Jessica down near a door. "Take that door down to the end of the hallway. There's an emergency panic room where you'll be safe. I've programmed it to lock as soon as you enter it." explained Sarah.

"Wait a minute, you're going to lock me in?" said Jessica. "It's the only way you'll be safe. I promise I'll be back soon." said Sarah who turned and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" demanded Jessica. "To make the people responsible for this pay." said Sarah.

* * *

At the US Capitol Building, an investigative committee was now in session with various Senators and Congressman. Among those was Senator Henry Guyrich who was currently speaking before the assembly.

"And therefore, these things must be removed from the general population. We've seen what they can do and we cannot possibly allow these…mutants since there is a lack of a better word, to roam the general public. What if one of them gets angry? We've seen that the military and law enforcement are inadequate to handle them. Finding a way of stopping them and confining them should be our top priority." he said in his prepared speech.

Then something odd happened, a glass of water at his panel started vibrating. It was like something out of Jurassic Park, the water vibrating every few seconds like footsteps. Suddenly, a metallic hand tore through the roof and ripped it open.

Guyrich couldn't believe it. Standing before him was a Sentinel. Everyone in the room quickly ran. Guyrich ran to the door when suddenly, a metallic tentacle wrapped around his legs. He looked up to see the tentacle belonged to the Sentinel which started pulling him up into the air.

Sarah pulled Guyrich up into her hand and closed her fist, trapping him inside. She turned around and shot down two approaching attack helicopters. Several tanks and choppers approached but Sarah shot up into the air long before they reached her.

(Henry Guyrich wasn't actually a Senator in the comic books but since they made Kelly a principal and I'm keeping Graydon Creed for something else, he just seemed the appropriate choice for this. Please review and let me know how I did. Also, I really like suggestions. That's what put Exodus and Domino into the Acolytes. So please, tell me a story idea or a character idea. Anything you think would be a cool idea, let me know.)


	31. Ghost in the Machine part 2

(I am so sorry this took so long to update but with mid-terms approaching, I've had less time to write. Also, NeverWasteYourTears I would have to agree with you. I am starting to become a little boring. For the past month, my creative juices so to speak have dried up. I've hit what could be called a writer's block. I haven't come up with a single new idea for this story at all and that's why I need help and inspiration. So please, tell me an idea I could use. I need 'em. Well, I hope you all enjoy this conclusion to the Ghost in the Machine storyline. Enjoy!)

The X-Men were on their way back to the US via the X-Velocity when they heard the news over the radio that Sarah had abducted Senator Henry Guyrich, a heavy voice in the movement to lock up all mutants.

"Why would she take him? It doesn't any sense." said Rogue. "It is if she's looking for payback." said Logan. "But why Senator Guyrich?" asked Jean. "It doesn't matter. We've got to stop her before she goes too far." said Scott.

An alert showed an incoming message from Beast who was taking care of Sarah's body back at the base. "I have an update on her condition. Her brain waves patterns are starting to diminish." said Beast. "Is she dying?" asked a concerned Kurt. "No, her vitals are fine but I believe her brain wave patterns are returning to normal." replied Beast.

"Are you saying she'll wake up and be back to normal?" asked Storm. "I can't be certain of that but I do believe she should be able to regain consciousness eventually." said Beast. "That still doesn't tell us where she took the Senator." said Spyke.

"If her brain activity starts to normalize, then maybe I scan her mind telepathically. I didn't want to do it before because higher brain activity makes it difficult for telepaths to concentrate." said Jean. "We better make it quick, no telling what she'll do next." said Logan.

* * *

On a highway, Bolivar Trask and two of his soldiers were driving in an SUV to a safe house. The whole time Trask tried to contact Guyrich but for some reason he wasn't getting through to the Senator's office. Finally, Trask hung up his cell phone.

It didn't make any sense, Senator Guyrich put Trask on his priority contact list. His assistants knew to pick up when Trask called. "Sir!" yelled the driver.

Right in front of them, the Sentinel landed on the road. The driver tried to avoid it but the massive robot fired it's chest cannon. The laser impacted next to the vehicle, the force of the explosion flipping the SUV onto it's side.

Trask struggled to unbuckled himself when the vehicle was flipped back to it's proper position. The roof was ripped off and the Sentinel reached in and plucked him right out.

* * *

Back at the safe house Jean was standing over Sarah, mentally preparing herself for a telepathic scan. "Are you sure this will work?" asked Spyke. "Sarah's mind hasn't jumped into the Sentinel so it's safe to assume that they have some sort of mental connection with one another. So all Jean has to do is read Sarah's mind here and we should be able to figure out where the Sentinel is going." said Beast.

Jean began her probe, shifting through Sarah's thoughts. Jean felt the anger and loneness Vale feels and her desire for vengeance. She saw Sarah abduct Senator Guyrich through her eyes. Then she realized why, Guyrich was connected to Trask. Speaking of Trask, Sarah just grabbed him and was on her way back to…a backup Sentinel factory.

"Sarah took Senator Guyrich to a Sentinel factory near the US-Canadian border in Washington. She's also got Trask and is on her way back." said Jean. "Any idea why she took the senator?" asked Scott. "Yes, he's one of Trask's main financial contributors for the Sentinel Program." answered Jean.

"How come the worst kinds of people always seem to keep getting elected into office?" asked Bobby. "It's called American politics kid." said Logan. "We need to move. If we don't stop her, she will kill them." said Jean.

* * *

Trask was dropped to the ground inside of his own backup Sentinel factory. To his shock, he saw his staff all frozen in stasis slime and Senator Guyrich was dropped right next to him.

"Hello Dr. Trask." the Sentinel said. "Deactivate." demanded Trask, hoping the voice recognition program would activate. It didn't work. "You ruined my life." growled the machine. "Trask! What is going on?!" demanded Guyrich. "This is all your fault!" yelled the Sentinel.

Both Trask and Guyrich started backing away from the monstrous machine. "It's all because of you. If you didn't take Mr. Logan, we would have never left the mansion and I wouldn't be in this machine. Now all my friends are dead and it's all because of you." growled the machine. "Look whatever happened to you, it can be fixed. I can pay whatever it takes." pleaded Guyrich.

The Sentinel's chest cannon charged up, ready to fire. Then Sarah's vision became blurred. It normalized then became blurred once again. What the heck was going on? Suddenly, the hangar doors exploded behind her. She turned to the last people she ever expected.

"GUYS!" she yelled, overjoyed at seeing the X-Men. "Whoa, one of my friends' mind is stuck inside of a giant robot. My life is never dull." Rogue mumbled to herself. "But how…I thought you were all." Sarah said.

"We're fine. Everyone one of us." said Summers. "Yeah, so could you power down that chest cannon and not shoot those two?" asked Logan. The Sentinel's cannon shut down. "Don't get the wrong impression. I won't shed a tear if something bad happened to them but we kinda need these two to confess to making the Sentinel in the first place." explained Logan.

"You freaks won't get away with this. Kidnapping a US Senator and attacking the capitol building. You're done for!" yelled Trask. Logan walked up to him and punched him in the face. "You had that coming." smirked Wolverine.

He turned to Jean. "Go get Jessica." he said. She nodded and left. Then Sarah's vision became blurred again. Only this time it didn't become clear. In fact, it got worse. "What's happening?!" she yelled out.

* * *

She suddenly sat up…on a bed. "Sarah. Are you alright?" said Beast who was right next to her. "What happened? Where am I?" she asked. "You're in a safe house set up by the Professor. You're safe now." he told her. Sarah suddenly realized something. "I might but the others aren't." she said.

* * *

Back at the Hanger, the Sentinel glanced down at the X-Men. "Mutant life signs confirmed." it said with an electronic voice. "Uhh…Sarah." said a nervous Kurt. The Sentinel charged it's cannons and fired. Everyone quickly scattered. "Sarah what are you doing?" yelled Storm. "I've got a feeling Sarah's not inside that thing anymore." said Spyke.

Logan jumped onto it's legs and slashed away, only to get kicked off and sent flying through the air. Storm send lightning bolt after lightning bolt at it. Though they caused damaged, the Sentinel was still standing and it shot stasis slime at Storm who managed to avoid it.

Scott shot his optic blasts at it's head and managed to make the machine stumble. "Kitty, get everyone trapped in that slime out of here." ordered Summers. Shadowcat nodded and started phasing the base personal free.

Jean and Jessica came running out of a hallway to find the X-Men and Sentinel fighting. "Sarah no!" yelled Jessica. "I don't think your sister is inside that thing anymore." Jean replied.

Alex and Scott both fired their blasts, which actually knocked the Sentinel off it's feet. But within moments, it was back up. "This is getting us nowhere." said Alex. Bobby froze the ground underneath the Sentinel's feet but the large machine just simply broke the ice whenever it's feet would take a step.

Then Scott noticed the generator nearby, one that powered the facility. He got an idea. "Everyone pull out! Get everyone outside." he ordered. Meanwhile, Trask and Guyrich were trying to sneak away but were stopped by the Sentinel.

"It's alright Senator, this machine won't harm us." Trask said, quite confident. "Mutant lifesign confirmed." the machine, starring at him. Trask's confident smile quickly faded. "What?! De-activate." he ordered.

The Sentinel ignored him and charged it's chest cannon. Kurt teleported in and grabbed both of them before teleporting away. Just in time as the robot fired it's cannon.

Scott aimed his visor at the generator and fired, hitting it on the cooling valves. With them destroyed, the generator started overheating. An alarm went off overhead. "Alert, main reactor critical. All personal evacuate." came an electronic voice overhead.

"Everybody move!" yelled Summers. The Sentinel turned towards Scott and fired at him. Cyclops quickly took cover but was cut off from the exit. At the Hanger doors, Jean saw everything. "NOOO!" she yelled. Suddenly, she felt more powerful then she's ever been before. She lifted up the Sentinel telekinetically and hurled it into the wall.

The other looked at her speechless, amazed at her power. Scott managed to catch up with the others. "Let's get out of here." he said. Everyone quickly got into the X-Velocity and took off before the facility exploded, burying the Sentinel under thousands of tons of rocks.

* * *

Back at Washington DC, Trask and Guyrich were tossed out of a moving van right in front of the capitol building. The two men were quickly surrounded by dozen of military soldiers. "Hands up!" ordered one of them.

"I'm a US Senator." shot back Guyrich. "Bolivar Trask, Senator Guyrich, you're under arrest for illegal arms manufacturing." said the soldier. Both the Senator and Trask shared a nervous glance.

* * *

"America was rocked today when allegations of illegal arms manufacturing were made on high ranking government officials. Senator Henry Guyrich is currently being investigated for funding a Doctor Bolivar Trask of manufacturing the giant robot that attacked New York city a few days ago. Since the project was unapproved by any congressional oversight committee, criminal charges may be filed. In others news, the search continues for the escaped Bayville mutants." said a reporter on the X-Men's handheld television. Summers turned it off after that.

"Well, at least they don't think we made that robot." said Kurt. "Yeah but it hasn't changed anybody's perspective of us. Mutant menace is still the headline on every channel." grumbled Evan. "One step at a time. We need to worry about our own at the moment." said Storm.

In the medical room, Sarah sat silently. Logan stepped inside. "How ya doing kid?" he asked. "I can't believe I was so stupid. Now I've made things worse." she said. "No you didn't. Thanks to you, we were able to link Guyrich and Trask to the Sentinel and leak the connections to the media. As for kidnapping those two well, I've got a lot worse. And I mean a lot worse." he explained to her.

"Some X-Men I am." grumbled Sarah. "Hey, we've all done things we regret but we move on. Scott destroyed several buildings before Chuck found him, Jean nearly killed everyone of us when her powers evolved too quickly, Storm nearly drowned her village in rainfall when she first gained her powers, and I was a ravaging animal that practically attacked everything is sight. Chuck found me soon after I escaped that Weapon X facility and I wasn't exactly thinking straight. If he hadn't stopped me and helped me, I'd probably be a mass murderer." said Logan.

That caught Sarah by surprise. "So don't feel down about what you've done kid. We all make mistakes. Okay, I'm done with my little pep talk." said Logan.

"Hey ya'll, we're starting a game of poker and we need another player." said Rogue, poking her head in and asking Sarah. Vale glanced at Logan. "Thanks Mr. Logan." she said before hugging him. She let go and followed Rogue to the table in the mess hall. The others didn't scorn her or look at her funny, they were happy to see her and glad she was back. And so was Sarah.

(Next up, the fight you've been waiting for. It's the New Mutants vs. the Marauders. Since mid-terms is next week, I'm probably not going to have time to work on it soon so be patient. As always, reviews are always welcome.)


	32. Sewer Brawl for All

(Wow! The fight between the New Mutants and the Maruaders isn't the best fight I've ever written but it's still good. I had so much fun writing this. My writer's block is gone and I am proud to say that Brotherhood is back with a brand new chapter.)

"Eeeeh! This place reeks." groaned Vertigo. "Quite whining Vertigo. Let's just get this job done and go home." said Ruckus. The boss ordered the Marauders to sweep the Bayville sewers and find a mutant by the name of Caliban. Personally the group would rather skin the ugly mutant then capture him alive but Essex said that if Caliban died under their watch, they shouldn't bother coming back.

And everybody knew better then disobey the boss's orders. The whole team feared him and for good reason. Nathaniel Essex wouldn't think twice about killing anyone of them so they constantly worked hard to be useful. Besides, the rewards to come will be worth it.

"You know the drill people. Split up and find him." ordered Arclight. Ruckus, Vertigo, and Blockbuster went one way. Arclight and George went another and Scalphunter and Harpoon went the final way.

* * *

At the Morlocks camp, everyone was laid back and trying to rest. The New Mutants weren't exactly welcomed with open arms but they were treated with respect. Still, it was hard to sleep in a sewer so most of the New Mutants didn't sleep very much.

Amara was sitting by herself, wishing she was back at the Institute with others but most of all she missed John the most. His charming smile and goofy attempts to woo her always put a smile on her face. She was glancing around when she noticed Caliban jumping to his feet, startled.

He closed his eyes like he was trying to concentrate or something. His eyes soon shot open. "INTRUDERSSSSS!" he yelled. Everyone quickly woke up. "THEY'RE COMING HERE!" Caliban continued yelling. All the Morlocks quickly grabbed whatever possessions they could hold and took off running.

The New Mutants managed to catch up with Caliban and Callisto who were talking to one another. "What's going on?" asked Ray. "Hunterssss. Marauderssssss." Caliban said. That got the New Mutants attention. "We have to stay ahead of them. Keeping focusing on them, we need to know their positions." ordered Callisto.

"Wait a minute, you want to run?" gasped Ray. "Most of the Morlocks aren't capable of defending themselves. I'm not going to risk their lives in a confrontation." said Callisto. "But if they're down here, that means only one thing. They're coming for your people or ours. Either way, you can't run from them forever." said Amara.

"I'm not going to risk their lives to settle your personal vendetta with them." said Callisto, who was told earlier all the details about the attack on the Mansion. "Fine, we'll handle it ourselves." said Sam. All the New Mutants nodded. Tabitha glanced at Jamie.

"You should go with 'em kid." she said. "No way. I'm not going anywhere. If all of you are staying then so are all of us." Jamie said before multiplying himself into five Jamies. "Fine." said Callisto who walked away with Caliban.

Caliban looked back at them and said, "There are seven of them. They've split into three groups. One is composed of three members, the other each has two. Good luck." he turned and followed Callisto.

"Okay, here's the situation. There's eight of us." said Ray. "Ahem." grunted the five Jamies. "And seven of them." continued Ray, ignoring Jamie. "Scott and the others had trouble with these guys which means they're not pushovers." said Jubilee.

"Yeah but they're separated. Divided. We could use that to our advantage." said Jubilee. "Okay, how?" asked Roberto. Amara smiled. Those sessions with Wolverine were about to pay off. "I think I've got an idea." she said.

* * *

Scalphunter groaned as he stepped into another running sewage stream. "This is disgusting." he muttered to Harpoon. "Beats freezing in an Alaskan winter." replied Harpoon. "Oh right, that's where you're from. No wonder you're so ugly." snickered Scalphunter. Harpoon shot an angry glance at him then chuckled himself.

"OWWW!" yelled Scalphunter, something small but hard bouncing off the back of his head. The two turned around to see Jamie standing there smiling and holding another rock. He throws it at Harpoon who manages to duck and miss it. Energy harpoons form in his hands.

He lobbed them at Jamie who took running. "Get that brat!" yelled Scalphunter. The two Marauders chased after him. They eventually cornered him at a dead end. "Wait a minute, that's one of those Xavier brats!" yelled Harpoon, finally seeing who it was.

"This time, you're gonna stay dead kid." said Scalphunter, transforming his exoskeleton arms into cannons. Suddenly, Jamie disappeared. "Huh? Where'd he go?" said Scalphunter. "NOW!" they heard behind them.

Ray jumped into the stream behind them and unleashed an electric discharge. It was too little too late before Scalphunter and Harpoon realized they were standing in the same stream. The two both screamed as electricity coursed through their bodies.

The two Marauders dropped to the ground unconscious. "Okay, that's two down." said Ray with a Jamie by his side.

* * *

Ruckus, Blockbuster, and Vertigo continued down the old tunnel into what appeared to be an empty makeshift shelter. It probably held about twenty people judging from the ragged tentsset up.

"Well, it's safe to say that this was our sewage rat's recent getaway. Looks like they packed up in a hurry." said Vertigo. Blockbuster knelt down beside a fire place, still hot. "This was put out recently. They can't have gotten far." said Blockbuster.

Then Ruckus noticed something in the corner of his eye. Someone quickly taking cover behind a support pillar for the room. He smiled and took in a deep breath. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed, letting loose a powerful sonic blast. The blast shattered the pillar and knocked down Amara who was hiding behind it.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A lonely little sewer rat." chuckled Ruckus as he and the others approached. Amara covered herself in flames but Ruckus let loose another sonic burst which knocked her off her feet once again and extinguished her flames.

She also landed in a pile of sewage, drenching her. She tried to create a flame but found that she couldn't. "And you know what you do to a rat? You exterminate the vermin." snickered Ruckus. He turned to Blockbuster and motioned for him to get her. The massive mutant cracked his knuckles and moved forward.

Suddenly, a ball of yellow energy flew right into his face and exploded. Thanks to his mutant powers, he wasn't hurt from it but the bright flash completely blinded him. "AAAHHH! I can't see!" yelled Blockbuster, cradling his eyes.

"NOW!" yelled Tabitha. Suddenly, Sam ran out and launched himself directly into Blockbuster. The massive brute was knocked off his feet. He crashed back first into the brick wall, slumping to the floor. Meanwhile, Sam was wobbling on his feet. "Woah…that kinda hurt." he moaned, barely able to run back into the shadows.

Amara used the distraction to do a leg sweep on Ruckus, knocking him to the ground. Tabitha was about to hurl more energy bombs at Vertigo but the green haired mutant send a psychic wave that caused Tabitha to wobble. She dropped her bombs which exploded near her feet. The explosions send her flying into a makeshift tent.

Amara charged at Vertigo but the Marauder was ready. Amara went for a spinning back kick but Vertigo ducked underneath it. She then countered with a kick to the chest that brought Amara to her knees. Obviously, the Marauders were just as trained as the X-Men on hand to hand combat as Amara is now just realizing.

Ruckus grabbed Amara by the neck and put her in a chokehold. He allowed her enough air so she could stay conscious. "If you don't want me to snack this little spitfire's neck in half, you'd all better step out." warned Ruckus.

Having no choice, Tabitha and Sam walked out of their hiding spots. "Good. Now seeing as you brats someone somehow survived the Xavier Institute's firesale, I guessing the rest of the New Mutant brats are alive and kicking as well." said Ruckus.

"Where are they?" demanded Vertigo. Amara tried to elbow Ruckus in the gut but he blocked it and now restrained her elbow. He also kicked her in the back of her left knee, forcing her down on one knee.

"I wouldn't try that again sweetheart. Otherwise, your head will be doing a complete 180." warned Ruckus. Suddenly, he heard barking and turned to a red-haired dog leaping right at him. Wolfsbane tackled Ruckus, the Marauder loosing his grip on Amara.

Roberto leaped out from the shadow, having just charged up from the lights coming through the ceiling grates. He charged at Vertigo and the two faced off. Vertigo, though fast and experienced, just wasn't strong enough and Roberto managed to tackle her and hold her down.

But Ruckus wasn't helpless with Rahne on top of him. He screamed, letting a sonic burst loose that sent Wolfbane flying right into the ceiling. She fell to the ground unconscious. Ruckus got back to his feet just as Sam came flying at him. With a simple step back, Ruckus smiled as Sam flew right by him and crashed into the wall.

Roberto continued trying to hold Vertigo down when suddenly the two of them were sent flying away from a seismic tremor. Stepping into the room were Arclight and George. They heard the commotion and ran here as fast as they could.

"I don't know how you twerps survived but we're about to undue that mistake." said Arclight. "We'll see about that." said Ray who just arrived with Jamie. Arclight responded by slamming his fist down and sending seismic waves that knocked Ray and Jamie down.

George leaped forward and wrapped his liquid body around Ray's entire body. He then hardened himself, cutting off Ray's oxygen supply. "Let's see how long you can hold your breath." snickered George. Then an electric charge flowed through his breath. George screamed in pain and leaped off of Ray.

Meanwhile, Arclight noticed that there were now five Jamie's. He sent another seismic wave that knocked them to the ground and now there were twenty five clones of Jamie. "Get him!" yelled one of the Jamie's. Before he even knew it, the Jamie's charged at Arclight and knocked him down. They then proceeded to pull his hair, bite, poke his eyes, kick him in the crotch, pretty much many painful things all at once.

Arclight slammed his fist into the ground, creating a seismic tremor which knocked all of the Madroxs off him. But now he found himself surrounded by fifty of them. But before they could attack, Vertigo send psychic disorientation at the Jamie's. They all stumbled and fell over each other as Arclight managed to get away.

Meanwhile, Ruckus and Tabitha were squaring off. Boom Boom threw bomb after bomb at him but Ruckus simply sent them flying away from him with a sonic burst. Then Tabitha got an idea and threw energy bombs off to the side.

Ruckus busted up laughing. "Okay, just what exactly was that supposed to do?" he chuckled. "This." she said before taking off running. Ruckus turned to the bombs and realized they were sitting on top of several dumpsters marked with fire hazard stickers. "Let's bail!" yelled Ruckus. The Marauders took off one way and the X-Men ran the other way. The canisters exploded, the explosion destroying the last of the support beams and the roof collapsed.

* * *

The New Mutants all breathed a sigh of relief after a head count and found they didn't lose anyone. "That was insane Tabby." grumbled Ray. "Hey! In case you didn't notice, those guys were tough. We were holding our own at the moment but that wasn't going to last forever." shot back Tabitha.

"No, she was right. We weren't ready for them, besides the whole point of that was to distract them from getting to the Morlocks. And I'm guessing that they'll be retreating to lick their wounds." said Amara. "And we should do the same." said Sam who was carrying an injured Rahne.

* * *

The Marauders managed to find Scalphunter and Harpoon and wake them up. "I'm going after those punks! I'll kill 'em!" yelled Scalphunter, though he could barely stand. "Forget it Scalp, you can barely walk. We're heading back to base." said Vertigo.

"What about the boss? Isn't he going to be mad?" asked Blockbuster. "We didn't kill Caliban for one thing and since one of those Xavier losers decided to go kamikaze back there, we can't follow them. Nothing else to do but head back and get our wounds treated." said Ruckus.

* * *

(Surprise, you probably think that's the end of this chapter well guess again. I really wanted to end this chapter in a cliffhanger and this is how I'm going to do it.)

At the safe house, all the X-Men were watching the live televised Senatorial Congression meeting about the mutant situation in the United States. "And I say these mutants are concealed weapons of the most dangerous sort." said the Committee Chairman, Senator Graydon Creed.

"Unbelievable." grumbled Rogue before Kurt shushed her. Suddenly, the exit doors burst open and in stepped Beast and Storm all dressed in concealment clothing. "Well, here goes nothing." sighed Jean.

"What is the meaning of this? Who are you?" demanded Graydon. "We are mutants and this witch is going to stop now." said Storm with a voice of authority as she stepped up to the speaker. "You tell 'em Auntie O." said Spyke.

The meeting quickly became an interrogation as Senator Creed started boiling them with every question and accusation he could think of. "We had no choice but to defend ourselves." said Beast, explaining the whole fight with the Sentinel.

"But how do we know you didn't build that thing yourself?" snarled Creed. "What? That's absurd. Senator Guyrich and Bolivar Trask have been implicated in the robot's creation." shot back Storm. "Those allegations are still being investigated." replied Creed.

"Unbelievable. They're trying to blame us for everything even when we gave them proof that those two racist nut jobs were behind everything." growled Sarah.

* * *

At the remains of the Xavier Institute, Kim was doing her job just like every other reporter there. Stake out the place and report if the military makes any big discovery or announcement. But for the past few days, the military showed nothing and quite frankly it was boring.

"I should be covering the senate hearing, not this. There's nothing here that's news worthy." she grunted to her cameraman Tom. Suddenly, a tremor nearly knocked the two of them off their feet. "What the…an earthquake?" yelped Kim. "Maybe it's one of those mutants." suggested Tom. "Start filming." Kim demanded and he did.

* * *

"We are people Mr. Chairman. Regardless of who we are or what we can do." said Beast. "You are atrocities!" yelled Creed. It was obvious how he felt about mutants but it was clear that the rest of the committee was also listening to him.

Suddenly, the picture went out. "We interrupt this program to brink you this special report. We now go live to Kim Reynolds who is in the field." said a voice over.

"Hey!" yelled Kitty. "Quiet." said Logan, shushing her. It switched to footage of the Institute. The cameraman must have been shaking because the picture never stood still for one second. "Hey, that's the Institute!" said Kurt. "What's going on?" Scott wondered out loud.

* * *

Inside the Institute walls, military personal began evacuating the rubble for fear that what remain of the Institute would collapse. Suddenly, a rocky spike shot out the ground. Then another and another and another. Soon, the entire Institute grounds were covered with these rocky spikes.

Massive ones grew out of what was once the Institute, destroying all that was left of the remains. A military soldier ran throughout this chaos and tricked over his feet. To his surprise, the dirt he was laying on was starting to move. He backed up and saw a figure seemingly grow out of the ground, composed completely of dirt.

The X-Men saw everything on their TV and watched in complete disbelief. They all realized the same thing, Petra was back.

(Surprise! That's right folks. It's isn't Juggernaut that the X-Men are going to have to fight, it's Lance's revenge driven mother. And boy is she not in a good mood. As for Juggernaut, I've something better in mind for him. Please review!)


	33. The Stuff of Heroes

(Time for X-Men vs. Petra round 2. Please review and enjoy.)

At last, finally free! She was back where she was before but her past experience allowed her to reform herself far quicker then before. She had much to do. Get back at Xavier and his little drones were at the top of her list but also find Lance. Before her sense started to go blurry, she heard him crying out for her. He didn't know what he doing, she understood.

She turned around to see a soldier getting to his feet and took off running. With a simple thought from Petra, the soldier's feet sank into the dirt which then hardened. The soldier was trapped as Petra walked right up to him and grabbed him by the neck.

"What happened here?" demanded the dirt form mutant. "I don't know. When we arrived here, the place was already destroyed. All the mutants managed to escape. That's all I know I swear." pleaded the soldier.

"Freeze! Let him go right now freak!" Petra heard behind her. She turned to see several dozen soldiers all aiming their assault rifles at her along with two Humvees aiming their .50 caliber machine guns.

This of course did not intimidate or impress Petra. The vehicles began to sink into the ground, it's crew quickly jumping out before both Humvees were swallowed up by the Earth. The nearby rock spikes broke off from the ground and levitated into the air.

The soldiers watch the whole scene in disbelief. The spikes turned from rocks to magma and hurled at the soldiers, hitting their weapons. All the soldiers quickly tossed their rifles aside, most getting burned in the process. "Where's Xavier?" demanded Petra, turning back to the trapped soldier. "I told you, all the mutants escaped." pleaded the soldier. "Fine, then I'll draw him out." said Petra before sinking into the ground.

* * *

At the X-Men Safe house, the students were freaking out and for good reason. "Oh this is not good." said Kitty. "Ya think? That footage just got broadcast to the world and there's no telling what that crazy dirt wacko's going to do next." said Bobby.

"We need to track her down." said Jean. "How? We don't have Cerebro and we have no idea where she's going." replied Logan. "We've got a bigger problem. The last time we fought her, she wiped the floor with us. The only one who can stop her is Lance." said Summers. That brought an uncomfortable silence in the room.

"Is there anyway we can find him?" asked Alex, not wanting to say it but it was what everybody else was thinking. "Even if we could find him, there's no way he'd help us." said Kurt. "Besides, knowing them they're probably holed up in a cave or something. No way they'll find out." said Rogue.

* * *

Contrary to Rogue's belief, the Brotherhood was not in a cave. They were currently enjoying time at a mansion. I'm not kidding. The group decided to drop in on Senator Guyrich's mansion in upstate New York. Since it was only his summer getaway and only two housekeepers were there, the Brotherhood easily knocked them out. They then tied them up, blindfolded them, and locked them in a closet.

Now with the whole place to themselves, the Brotherhood was actually enjoying it. Kine and Terrance were lying on separate deckchairs working on their tans while Toad and Lance were swimming in a large pool in the back yard.

"How much you wanna bet the X-Dorks are all sitting in some rat hole trying to comfort themselves that we're worse off right now then they are?" asked Kine. "I would have to say it would be somewhere between highly likely and abso-freakin-lutly." replied Chris.

"LANCE!" yelled John as he and Fred came running out of the mansion. "What's up?" asked Lance, getting out of the pool. "You've got to come see this. Your mom is on the news." said John. Lance bolted past them inside. The others quickly followed him.

In the living room was a massive big screen TV that Pietro was watching by himself a few seconds ago, now everybody was sitting in front of it. Clips of Petra's attack on the military showed on the screen. "This was the scene just moments ago. A powerful mutant easily overpowered all military forces around the former Xavier Institute and then disappeared…Wait just a minute. This just in, the mutant has resurfaced and is now attacking the Shore Power Plant." announced the reporter.

"Shore?...That's a nuclear power plant." said John. "Oh great. Lance, your mother is about go Chernobyl on the entire state." gulped Pietro. He glanced back to see Lance was gone. "Lance?" he asked. He zipped to the front window to see Alvers driving off in his Jeep.

* * *

It didn't take the X-Men long to get to the power plant. The problem now was finding a way to fight Petra.

"Why's she doing this?" asked Jean. "Probably to draw us and the prof here. She's probably still holding a grudge." replied Logan. They landed just a kilometer away from the power plant which was currently a warzone between Petra and the 42nd Infantry Battalion.

Despite the soldier's numbers and training, Petra was disposing of them with little effort. Any attack helicopters approach she simply sends molten rocks onto them. For tanks she simply sinks into the ground and for soldiers she simply knocked them around with seismic tremors. In the end, she was really just toying with them.

The team managed to sneak into the area as the army pulled out. "We've got a problem. I've been reading some of the soldier's minds and it looks like Petra has formed lava inside the cooling system and she's destroyed the Emergency Core Cooling System so the reactor can't be shut off. It's going to continue to heat up and eventually melt through the containment buildings." said Jean.

"Are we talking meltdown?" asked Scott. "Not an explosion but radiation will spread out, most likely over several states. And at the levels they're approaching, this won't the kind of radiation exposure that kills you thirty years from now but a few hours." said Jean.

"Is she nuts? She'll kill millions of people." gasped Kitty. "We need to shut off that reactor." said Kurt. "The only way to do that is get to the emergency water valves inside the containment building. The piping system is old but still working. Petra's sealed off the entrances to the building." said Jean.

"Just a second, that building's gotta filled with high radiation levels by now. We won't last a second inside." said Logan. "I can go in. My body can absorb any form of radiation. I'll be able to walk in no problem." said Alex. "You can't possibly absorb that much radiation." said Scott. "I've never tested my limits before but I swear I can do it." shot back Alex.

"X-MEN!" yelled a voice behind them. They turned to see Petra standing ontop of a building, looking down upon them. "Where's Xavier?!" demanded Petra, her voice booming across the whole area.

"You're not getting him. You're getting us!" yelled Logan. "That coward. If he won't come and face me then what happens next is on his head!" shot back Petra. The dirt figure concentrated and the ground around the X-Men began to shake.

Multiple figures began to form from the dirt and rocks. Their eyes glowed yellow, similar to Petra's. "Icicle! Take Alex and turn those water valves, we'll take care of her." ordered Logan, knowing that those valves were probably going to be hot.

Petra roared in fury and the figures charged forward. Logan popped out his claws and began slashing through them. But they reformed in seconds. Summers shot them with his optic beams and Jean used her telekinesis to mostly keep the enemies at a distance. Spyke's spikes did really nothing and Kurt and Kitty were all but useless since punching a bunch of enemies made of hard rock and dirt wasn't exactly a good idea.

* * *

But they did provide a good distraction for Alex and Bobby to sneak into the containment building unnoticed. The two found a massive rock wall in the way towards the chamber they needed to go. (I don't know what to call stuff inside a nuclear power plant so just bear with it.) "Got it covered." said Alex who blasted a hole in the wall.

Alex stepped inside first, feeling the radiation enter his body. He was used to taking it in from the sun but this was much closer and more intense. He concentrated, absorbing as much as he could. "We're good." he said when the levels were too low to be a threat. Bobby ran with him as the two found the valves. They were steaming from the handles. "Got this covered." smirked Bobby who fired an ice beam that covered all of the handles in ice. The valves quickly cooled off and both Alex and Bobby started turning them, turning on the coolant system.

* * *

Back outside, the X-Men were now facing hundreds of these rock soldiers. It was getting to be too much, even for Wolverine who was forced back with the others. "Everyone duck!" yelled Cyclops, who pulled off his visor. His eyes fired a massive energy beam that he sweeped 360 around him, destroying all the soldiers.

"Enough of this!" yelled Petra who leaped from the building and landed on the ground, sinking through. The earth began to shake and then rise as Petra rose out of the ground as a large 200 foot tall rock soldier. The X-Men all glanced up in disbelief and shock.

They quickly scattered as Petra brought her massive fists down, nearly crushing them. Logan charged forward and cut at her legs. A fist formed on her legs and punched Logan. He fell back and Petra leaned down and scooped him up with her left hand.

"Let's see you heal from this." Petra said before her hand turned to magma. Logan screamed in pain as his entire body (except for his adamantium skeleton) began to melt. Kurt and Kitty teleported up to him and phased him out of her fist before teleporting away.

Petra screamed in fury and her head turned to molten rock. It was launched into the air and exploded, sending molten rock shrapnel everywhere. Everyone quickly took cover behind Jean who managed to keep a telekinetic shield up despite the seemingly rain of fire.

Petra's head reformed and now her entire body turned to magma, melting to the ground and moving in a wave towards the X-Men. Everyone got together as Kitty phased through the wave. Petra reformed now into a massive 200 figure again, only this time she was diamonds. Sharp spikes formed all over her body which she fired, the X-Men were forced to hide behind Jean again who was weakening. Petra fired again, only Kurt teleported them all to safety.

"This is ridiculous! We're always on the defensive!" yelled Spyke. That quickly changed when a jeep pulled up beside them and their surprise, Lance Alvers jumped out. "MOM!" he yelled. Petra gasped upon seeing him.

She shrank back to normal size and approached him. "You're okay." Petra breathed a sigh of relief. The two embraced. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you." Lance said with tears in his eyes. "It's okay Lance, I'm fine." Petra told him.

Then Petra moved him aside and started walking towards the X-Men with a look of anger on her face. "So much for that moment." groaned Kurt. "MOM STOP!" yelled Lance, his face turning to one of anger. Petra twirled around to face him.

"What were you thinking?! You're going to cause a nuclear holocaust!" Lance yelled at her. "I was trying to force Xavier to face me. Instead, I get his lapdogs." replied Petra. "But you're about to kill everyone in New York state! Why?! Didn't you realize that I was here too! If that reactor goes, so do I! You'd kill your own flesh and blood!" continued Lance, extremely angry.

Petra was wounded from what she heard and realized he was right. In a blaze of hatred, she nearly killed her own son. She then realized she'd become the real monster, not Xavier. She was willing to commit genocide just to kill one man. This wasn't who she was.

"No…NOOOOO! I'M SORRY!" she yelled. The whole earth began to shake violently. Everyone struggled to stay on their feet. Petra's body began to fall apart, losing her hands and arms first then her head and chest. "Forgive me." Petra's voice whispered before the last of her sunk into the ground.

Lance was stunned by this. He didn't use his tremors, this time it was his mother. She caused the tremors to herself, breaking her body apart. She willingly destroyed herself.

The X-Men were stunned as well. "What just happened?" asked Spyke. "She finally realized that it wasn't Chuck who was the monster, it was her." said Logan, his body has mostly healed from the burns. Lance continued starring at the ground, speechless. The X-Men didn't really know what to say to him so they headed off to the power plant to help anyone trapped inside. Kitty took one last look at him then followed the others.

The Brotherhood meanwhile pulled up in their own vehicles. "Lance! You okay?" asked Toad. "Maybe some other day. Let's get out of here." grunted Lance.

* * *

"Uhh..." stuttered Graydon Creed, who just watched the whole turn of events with the rest of the Senate Committee. "What did they just do?" he asked. "What they were trained to do? Use their powers for good." said Storm.

"But how don't we know that you didn't set this whole…thing…up." said Graydon, just as he saw the X-Men on the large monitor leading various people out of the containment building. He quickly realized that he was losing this fight. Everyone saw mutants risking their lives saving others.

The last straw came when Graydon's assistant handed him a note. Trask had confessed to everything and he was proud of what he did. That moron! If he only kept his mouth shut, Creed would have been able to put the blame on mutants for that Sentinel disaster. Now he had no choice but to concede that the mutants were innocent.

"Bolivar Trask has admitted to creating the Sentinel. Considering this new evidence, this committee finds the X-Men innocent from all charges." said Creed, though it took all his effort not to scream in frustration. "And what about other mutants out there fearing persecution?" asked Beast.

"I suppose…we should halt all attempts to hunt down mutants. This issue needs more time for debate." Creed said.

* * *

Trask sat in his cell, waiting for what comes next. It doesn't matter how things are now, eventually people will come to see him as a hero and martyr. They'll realize that he did the right thing.

"Trask, you gotta visitor." said the prison guard, opening the cell door. Colonel William Stryker stepped inside. "Hello old friend." smiled Stryker. "What do you want?" growled Trask, knowing this man had a bunch of freaks that did his dirty work for him.

"Operation Wildfire is almost ready. There's just a few more things I need to work out and you're going to help me." said Stryker. "Help you?! I'd rather gut a traitor like you then help you." grunted Trask. Stryker maintained his smile.

"I never said you had a choice in this." he said before snapping his fingers. In stepped three blond triplets, the Cuckoos. "What the…" Trask started to say before the Cuckoos began altering his mind.

(The pieces are almost in place. Soon Stryker's going to make his move but the question is what exactly is his move? You'll just have to stick around and find out. I haven't done a comedy story in awhile so that's going to be the next chapter. A flashback to Halloween where the X-Men come to school dressed up but it's the Brotherhood that steals the show with their costumes.)


	34. Happy HalloGeekoween

(Time for a little goofy chapter. And it will involve a special guest at the end, please enjoy and have a Happy Halloween.)

Chris and Kine are sitting on deckchairs with sunglasses and margaritas. "Hello readers of , HardBoiled's been doing a lot of serious stories lately and quite frankly, he needs a little break. And by break, I mean a funny story or two. And what better way then a flashback back to Halloween at school." said Kine into the camera.

"Oh yeah, that was classic. One of our best one's yet." agreed Chris. "So sit back and enjoy another great moment of the Brotherhood tormenting the X-Geeks." snickered Kine.

* * *

The camera cut to footage of Chris spying on the X-Men as they arrive at school. "Greetings folks, it's Halloween here in Bayville and that's means the weirdos are coming out. Speaking of which, here comes the geek squad." chuckled Chris.

Scott was dressed as Abraham Lincoln, Jean as Catwoman, Kurt had a Starfleet costume on, Evan was a pirate, Rogue was dressed as a vampire, and Kitty was dressed as Lara Croft (Yes, Lance was drooling when he saw her.). "While those losers continue their crusade of being the most pathetically dressed people on the planet, we will now make our entrance." chuckled Chris.

The Brotherhood busted into the cafeteria, which not coincidentally the X-Men were all waiting. The Xavier students' mouths dropped practically to the floor when they saw the Brotherhood's costumes. The Brotherhood was dressed as the X-Men.

Lance was dressed like Cyclops (visor and all), Fred had a large custom suit similar to Jean's and had a long red wig on his head. Toad had a custom costume similar to Wolverine's and plastic straws in-between his fingers to use for claws. Chris was in a wheelchair wearing a suit and had a plastic covering on his head which made him look bald. John had a bunch of tree branches sticking out all over his body, all sharpened so he looked like Spyke. Kine was dressed gothic but the white streak in his wig gave away that he was impersonating Rogue. And Pietro was dressed in his Quicksilver suit.

"Greetings. I am Dorkalops and we are the loser brigade." said Lance as he and the rest of the Brotherhood approached the X-Men. "Dorkalops?" growled Summers. "And I'm Miss Perfect. Don't even bother trying to converse with me because you are far beneath me." said Fred in the most condescending femine voice he could muster. "Why you…" growled Jean before Chris interrupted her.

"Howdy folks, I'm Professor Baldo Wacko. YAHOOOOO!" yelled Chris, who was doing wheelies in the wheelchair. "Rarrrrr!" roared Toad was trying to slice the table with his straws. "I'm Miss Depression, nothing I do matters. I live alone and I'll die alone, no one will ever love me." said Kine in a mockingly sad voice. Rogue was half ready to deck him if Kurt didn't stop her.

"And I am the world's fastest, smartest, sexist, greatest being alive Quicksilver!" yelled Pietro proudly. "Figures you'd dress up as that." grumbled Spyke. "Well I wasn't going to lower myself by dressing up as one of you losers but I was kind enough to make these costumes for all of them." replied Pietro.

"Professor Wacko, may I resume my natural position of sticking my head up your rear end?" Lance asked Chris. "Only if you polish it real nice like you always do." said Chris. "Rarr!" roared Toad who was slicing at Kurt with his straws. "Cut it out Toad!" growled Kurt. "Rarr!" continued Toad. "I am Spyke. Despite all the spikes all over my body, I still do not have one in between my legs." chuckled John.

Evan tackled him and the two started fighting. Scott and Lance started fist fighting as well with Toad and Kurt now throwing punches as well. "OW! Stop poking me in the eyes with those things!" yelled Kurt. "Rarrr!" roared Toad. "Hi ho silver!" cheered Chris before he ran over Jean's foot. "OWW!" yelled Jean.

Soon everyone from both sides were duking it out until they were separated by several teachers. "What happened here?" demanded Kelly. "Rarr!" roared Toad, pointing at the X-Men. "Yep, it was there fault." said Kine. "No it wasn't. They were provoking us." said Spyke. "No we weren't. I have video camera footage of the whole thing." said Pietro.

The camera cuts to after Kelly has reviewed the footage. "See? We were only insulting the characters were playing." said Pietro. "Rarr." said Toad, nodding his head. "Yes, we would never scoop to such a low level by using petty insults." said Fred in his condescending femine voice.

"Scott. I am very disappointed in you and your friends. You attack these boys unprovoked and without any reason. Care to explain why?" demanded Kelly.

Scott stood there dumbfounded. "Fine, you and your friends can think about an answer in detention." said Kelly. "Except Kitty, she had nothing to do with this." said Lance. "Fine, I'm just let her off with a warning." said Kelly.

"Lance, you are such a jerk!" yelled Kitty as the rest of the X-Men were escorted to detention. She stormed off while the Brotherhood was all chuckling and laughing. Kelly approached them soon afterwards.

"Alright, I did what you asked now had it over." grumbled Kelly. Kine pulled out a microchip. "This contains all of our photos we have with you and Dorothy." snickered Kine. Kelly growled as he took the chip and walked off. "Blackmail is such a beautiful thing." said Fred. "Rarr." said Toad, nodding his head.

* * *

The camera cuts back to footage of Kine and Terrance in the chairs and drinks again. "There you have it folks. Another wonderful chapter of the true stars of this fic the Brotherhood making the X-Geeks' lives miserable. This is Benedict Kine and Christopher Terrance signing…" said Kine before a masked man jumped down right between them.

"How dare you break the fourth wall! I'm the only guy who can do that!" yelled Deadpool. "Get out of here Wade, you're not supposed to be in this fic until a later chapter." said Kine. "I'm getting sick of waiting around. I….AM…BORED!!!!!" yelled Deadpool, who pulled out his guns and started shooting at everything. Kine and Terrance quickly took cover.

"Now this is entertainment!!!" cheered Deadpool as he started lobbing grenades all over the place. "HardBoiled! Please use this guy soon!!" pleaded Chris.

(Hmm, it seems like Deadpool is a little angry that I haven't used him yet. Well, he'll just have to wait.)

Deadpool: Don't worry about me, I'm an island on a sea of tranquility. (A bird flies by and Wilson pulls out his pistols and starts shooting at it.)

Deadpool: YAHOOO! This is just like Duck Hunter, only for real!

(Oh boy, maybe I better use him soon. Next chapter, Juggernaut is loose in Chicago but he's turned over a new leaf. Something is rampaging through the city and the X-Men thinks it's him. But they'll soon realize that Juggernaut may be their only hope to stop it. Please review!)


	35. Enter Juggernaut

(Sorry I haven't updated sooner but I've been really busy. But I'm not complaining, at least I have a job now. Now for X-Men vs. Juggernaut, only Juggie is the least of the Xavier student's problem.)

The past two weeks have been the worst ones of Cain Marko's life. At first, everything was great. Mystique sprung him out of Stokes County and much to Cain's surprise, put Charles in his place. Marko could have killed Charles right there but that didn't seem right. He wanted Charles to suffer and what better way then to have his dear brother suffer inside the same prison cell Cain has for the past few years.

But when he got out, his mood began to change. He felt depressed, empty. For so many years, getting revenge against Charles was his ultimate goal in life. Now that it was done, Cain felt like he had nothing else to life for. Sure, causing destruction give him somewhat of a buzz but it would only be temporary.

Now here he was sitting inside of some old trashed trailer. Cain hitched a ride on a train to the outskirts of Chicago and found this abandoned camper resting on the edge of a trailer park. He figured he might as well get comfortable and been staying here ever since. He occasionally goes into the city to get beer but mostly he stays inside the trailer. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go and anything actually to do. He wasn't really sure why he stayed here, he wasn't really sure why he did anything these days.

He sat on some old couch that whoever used to live here didn't bothering taking. Cain reached down to his twelve pack to get another beer and realized he was all out. Grunting, he got to his feet and walked outside. He was about to head towards the nearest convenient store when he heard some yelling in a nearby trailer.

"WHERE ARE YOU?! GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE WHORE!!" yelled some man inside the trailer. From the sound of his voice, he was probably drunk. A little girl about seven or eight years old came running out of the trailer, terrified. She ran past Cain and hide behind him. Marko realized what this all was, he understood everything. He took the same beatings, the same insults, the same fear of when living with your worst nightmare.

It was the nightmare of living with an abusive parent. Cain understood all too well. His father was a mean drunk and smacked Cain sometimes just for no good reason. Sure, his old man would smile and be the nicest guy whenever someone else was around. But take away the guests, and you take away his disguise. And underneath, his father was somebody that Cain wished that he had the chance to kill.

But he died of a heart attack when Cain was fourteen years old. Marko considered that day to be the greatest day of his life. He remembered Xavier crying at the funeral. Of course that little punk never saw his stepfather for who he really was. Dad was always nice to Charles and his mother, how else was he going to enjoy the Xavier's family fortune.

All of those memories came rushing back to him when he saw that girl's face. The dad came bursting out of the trailer. "I SAID GET BACK HERE!" he yelled. He stepped forward then realized he was starring right at an angry Juggernaut.

"LEAVE…HER…ALONE!" yelled Cain. The dad stumbled back, tripping over his own feet. He managed to get back up and took off running down the street. Satisfied, Cain turned and started to walk off. He didn't get a few yards before he sensed he was being followed. He turned around and saw the same girl standing behind him. "Go home kid." Cain grunted. "You saw who's waiting for me." she replied. "I'm safe to be around kid." said Cain. "Are you going to hit me?" asked the girl.

The question caught him off guard, of course he wasn't going to that. "No." he said before he could stop himself. "Then you're a lot safer to be around then Stephen." the girl said. Cain quickly figured out what she meant by that. "The guy's your stepfather right?" he asked. She nodded her head. Cain really didn't want a kid hanging around him but his conscious was nagging at him not to let this girl go back to what he experienced himself all too often at a young age.

"Okay, fine. You can follow me. So what do I call you?" he sighed. The girl smiled. "Kayla. Who are you?" she answered. "Just call me Cain." said Marko.

* * *

At a grocery store, Cain and Kayla walked through the aisles. Kayla's family didn't get much food and her mother worked two jobs so she was never really home. Her lazy stepfather outright refused to get one and mom never said no to him.

So Cain decided to get her some food that would last a week. They walked through the aisles, collecting whatever she wanted. When they were finished, and after Cain got some beer, they headed towards the cash register.

But they didn't pay, instead Cain grabbed Kayla a candy bar and they headed towards the exit. "Hey, you have to pay for that!" yelled the manager. "I would have until I saw that little sign you posted." said Cain, pointing to the sign at the front entrance that stated: **No Freaks Allowed.** As far as Juggernaut was concerned, this guy's racism was all he needed to justify ripping him off.

"I'll call the cops." warned the manager. Cain leaned closer towards him, the manager quickly losing his courage. "Go ahead, if you've got the guts." said Cain, challenging him. Of course, the manager backed off. "Punk." muttered Marko before he and Kayla left.

* * *

At a storage warehouse just outside of Chicago, two soldiers stood guard inside. But the only real thing they were guarding was a large metal container, the kind used to hold large animals. Something was definitely inside, roaring and banging the walls trying to get out.

When these two were given this job, they were never expecting this. The two were constantly on edge, hoping that whatever is inside that container doesn't break out.

"What kind of animal do you think that is anyways?" one of them. "Don't know but I'm starting to think we're not getting paid enough to do. I say we cut our losses and get out of here." said the other. But they wouldn't get a chance. An electronic lock on the container automatically opened.

"What the…" one of the soldiers said before the door was bursted open. All they saw were two red glowing eyes inside before the two took off running. But they didn't get a few feet before it was upon them.

* * *

Elsewhere, Colonel Wraith smiled from his safe house. Everything was going according to plan. Soon Weapon Pandemic would be unleashed upon the city and tear it apart. But it won't stop at just one city. It'll engulf town after town, city after city, and no one will be able to stop it.

His buyers in HYDRA will be very pleased. After his failures with Weapon X, he needed something grand to build back his reputation and this will cement it. He can already imagine the calls he'll get from not just HYDRA but others who will want to bid for it.

* * *

Though mutants were no longer hunted, it was decided that the X-Men would stay in the HYDRA safe house for the time being. Despite no longer being hunted, the world was still reacting to the discovery of mutants very badly.

Every day brought new reports of assaults and even lynching of suspect mutants. Most major businesses have already installed a no mutant policy and a temporary ban of all mutants has been issued at schools and colleges. Still, at least they weren't being hunted by the government.

Jessica was adjusting to living with a bunch of mutants quite well. Right now her and Sarah were playing chess. Everyone else was watching the custom television screen that Bobby made with his ice.

"This just in, another attack was report in the outskirts of the greater Chicago area. A gas station was completely devastated, the two employees working earlier are missing. This makes the fifth attack in less then twenty four hours. It is now known that a powerful mutant is in the area and is suspected of these attacks. His name is Cain Marko." said the reporter on the screen.

"WHAT?!!" everybody pretty much yelled at once. Footage of him and Kayla taking food from a grocery store then started playing on the screen. "Despite being authorities' number one suspect, the police have yet to make any move against this mutant. This has created an outrage with many citizens…" the reporter continued before Scott shut it off.

"How did he get out?" asked Spyke. "That guy was big." muttered Alex. "Doesn't matter how he did it, we've got to stop him." said Logan. "Yeah, things were bad enough and now this could give folks another excuse to start hunting us again." said Rogue.

"Alright, Beast stays with Sarah and Jessica. Everyone else get suited up and meet up at the Velocity." ordered Summers.

* * *

Cain and Kayla got back to her place during sundown. "Thanks for the food." said Kayla, obviously not having much of a problem taking food that was stolen but food was food. "Not a problem. Are you sure you're going to be alright?" asked Cain. "Mom's home and Stephen never hits me when she's around." explained Kayla, pointing out a car that was parked next to her trailer.

The two got to the door and Kayla opened it. Inside, her very angry mother was waiting but that angry expression turned to fear when seeing Cain. "Yeah, I have that effect on people." said Cain after seeing her reaction.

"I was just hanging out with him mother. Hope you don't mind." said Kayla. The mother quickly pulled Kayla inside and shut the door. "Sweetheart, I told you not to talk with strangers. Especially mutants." Cain heard through the door.

Cain looked through a nearby window and saw Stephen inside. Cain glared at him then pointed to his own two eyes then pointed at Stephen. In other words, I'm watching you. Stephen practically fainted right then and there. Satisfied, Cain headed back to his trailer.

* * *

When the X-Men arrived at the trailer park, it was dead at night. It wasn't hard to find Juggernaut, everybody knew where he lived but nobody had the guts to face him. Even that new group Friends of Humanity steered clear of him.

"Okay, do we have a plan against him? Last time we had the Brotherhood and the Professor." Kurt started "What about Jean?" asked Kitty. "Guys, I'm not exactly the best when it comes to telepathy." said Jean. "Yeah well pounding him into submission isn't exactly going to work so it's not like we have a choice." said Evan. They all stood in front of his trailer. The windows were darkened, they couldn't even tell if someone was even home.

"If we're going to do this, someone's going to need to take his helmet." said Scott. Kitty smiled, "Piece of cake, I'll be in and out before he even knows it." she said. Kurt objected, "Wait a minute, I could be in faster." he said. Before the two could start arguing, Logan interrupted them. "I'm the only one that's going inside there and grabbing the helmet." he grunted before walking inside, not giving anyone a chance to stop him or respond.

"Come to think of it, he is the only one whose had Special Forces training. He can probably get it and get out no problem." said Rogue. Suddenly, Wolverine came flying out of the wall. He was hurled back and crashed into the X-Van. "Or not." moaned Rogue after seeing the large dent on the vehicle.

Juggernaut stormed out of his home, snapping his helmet on as he stepped out. "You just couldn't leave me alone. Fine, time to feel some pain!" he yelled before charging at the X-Men. Scott shot an optic blast but it didn't even slow down Cain.

The X-Men leaped out of the way as Cain rammed the X-Van, sending it flying into the air. "I'm going to crush you all like paper cups." growled Juggernaut. He was about to charge again when Jean levitated him telekinetically. Storm then created a whirlwind the sucked Cain into the air and sent him crashing down on top of his own trailer. He sat from the remaining debris as if nothing happened. "I'm sorry. Was that supposed to do something to me?" mocked Cain.

Wolverine charged at him and leaped into the air…only to get sent flying back with a single blow. Juggernaut charged at the X-Men. Bobby froze a path in front of Cain, causing him to fall and slide across it. Kitty jumped on Marko and phased him into the ground. She quickly leaped away when Juggernaut started thrashing about. Kurt teleported on his head and tried to unlock one of the helmet latches. But Cain grabbed him and hurled him into Storm, knocking them both out. Juggernaut broke out with a roar loud enough to wake half of the state. Everybody in the trailer park was now awake and emerging from their home to watch the fight.

Police cars began to show up but it wasn't like the cops were really going to get in the way. "You just couldn't leave me alone could you?! All I wanted was some peace and quiet!" yelled Cain. "You want peace along with smashing up a gas station, an apartment building, a train yard, need I go on?" shot back Scott, referring to the attacks. "I had nothing to do with those." growled Cain. "We don't believe you." said Jean. "You can believe Barry Manilow is God for all I care." snapped Cain who picked up a truck and hurled it at Alex. Havoc simply blasted the truck away from him.

"_All units, disturbance at Persing Square. Believed to be mutant responsible for previous attacks. Approach with caution."_ came over the cop's radios. The cops, who didn't plan on doing anything here anyways, took off. The X-Men heard the radio call and that stopped them in their tracks. "Told you I didn't do anything runts." shot Cain. "Well, what do we do?" asked Alex. "Our priority should be that other mutant. As much as I hate to say it, we don't have time to deal with him." said Storm. Cain waited for them to make a move, cracking his knuckles.

"X-Men, move out!" ordered Summers. The X-Men quickly took off, leaving a disgruntled Marko. "Yeah you better run." chuckled Cain.

* * *

With X-Van now a pile of junk, the X-Men ran on foot to Persing Square. Whatever was going on seemed to be happening at an old apartment building. Dozens of police cars were all parked outside. Jean used her telepathy to get a read on the situation while the others hide from sight. "Something is inside attacking anyone in sight. They've already got SWAT teams sweeping the building." she said. "Why do I have a funny feeling that they won't do much against it?" quipped Bobby.

Logan sniffed the air, recognizing the scent. "Oh no." he gasped. He suddenly took off running towards the building. "Logan wait!" yelled Storm but he ignored her. He immediately grabbed a police officer's radio right out of his hand. "Everybody out now!" he yelled. "Hey, who do you think you…" protested the officer. Suddenly, a monstrous roar silenced everyone. A group of SWAT officers came running out of the apartment, shooting at whatever was chasing them.

Something big burst out of the front entrance. A massive ten foot tall seven hundred pound white haired beast. It stood on two legs, had two arms with sharp claws on each hand, razor sharp teeth, two horns on the top of it's head, two red glowing eyes, and a furry tail. This is Wendigo.

(Next chapter, Wendigo is trashing everything. The X-Men can't stop it and now SHIELD is getting involved with their own mutant team. But the only hope to stop is Juggernaut. Hope you enjoy and please review.)


	36. Enter Wendigo

(The inspiration for this Juggernaut story came when I saw him in the episode Stuff of Heroes. I was angry when I watched it. Juggernaut was trying to smash up a dam for no good reason. Attacking Xavier is one thing, he hated the guy but attacking that dam never made any sense to me. Oh well, enjoy.)

"Whoa, there is an Abominable Snowman." said Kurt. The police started firing at Wendigo but their bullets just bounced off it's skin. They only really accomplish one thing, making it angry. With a smack of it's hand, the last of the SWAT team went flying.

Logan charged right at it. He jumped forward, claws first, and hit the monster squarely in the chest. Wendigo roared in pain. Logan continued slashing away until the monster lifted him above it's head. It tossed him away right into a light pole, the impact knocking it down.

The X-Men immediately went into action. Scott and Alex blasted the creature with their optic blasts, sending Wendigo flying into a nearby building. It immediately got back on it's feet and roared in anger. It grabbed a nearby car and tossed it. Jean used her telekinesis to deflect the car away. Wendigo grabbed another car but Storm sent a lightning bolt that hit the gas tank and it exploded. Wendigo emerges from the wreckage, it's wounds healing in seconds. Bobby shot an ice beam which froze Wendigo's feet. It tripped to the ground. Above it, Kurt teleported a car in the air.

The car comes crashing down right on the creature's body. Wendigo hurled the vehicle of it and then was blasted with Storm's lightning bolts, Scott's eye beams, and Alex's hand blasts. It moaned as it lay on the ground nearly unconscious.

"Well that wasn't so hard." smiled Bobby. Wendigo howled almost like a wolf. The thing was…more howls started coming from the distance. "Or not." gulped Bobby. Suddenly, another Wendigo dropped down from a nearby building. Another one emerged from an alley then three more. Soon, the X-Men found themselves surrounded by at least twelve Wendigos. The original one got back to it's feet and seemed to have an evil smirk on it's face.

* * *

Colonel Wraith finished packing up his belongings, it was time to get out of the country before Project Pandemic overruns everything. He was sure going to getting a few phone calls from Hydra by the end of the day.

There was a knock on his door. Strange, he wasn't expecting anyone. He looked through the peek hole to a black man holding a pizza box. "Pizza delivery." he said. "I didn't order any pizza." said Wraith. "No…but you do have this coming to ya." said the black man. The man lifted up his hand and fired an energy blast. The blast knocked the door of it's hinges and came crashing down on top of Wraith.

As the Colonel struggled to escape, a blond woman busted through the opposite wall. She floated in the air overtop of him and picked Wraith up one handed. "Hello Colonel. Nick Fury sends his regards." she said. "Agents Bishop and Danvers of SHIELD. You're under arrest." said the black man.

* * *

"Fall back!" yelled Scott. For the past two minutes, the X-Men have been fighting for their very lives. The thirteen Wendigos took anything the X-Men threw at them and kept coming. It was clearly a losing battle. Wolverine's claws were the only thing that was actually inflicting damage on the creatures but their wounds would heal in seconds.

Kitty and Evan managed to pull an unconscious Kurt to safety while Storm created a whirlwind that sucked up all the Wendigos. They came crashing down all over the place but were up on their feet instantly. The X-Men took off running…only to find ten more Wendigos approaching from behind.

The monsters all snarled and snickered, as if saying "You're screwed." Suddenly, missiles came crashing down on all the Wendigos. They howled in pain and anger as three SHIELD Velocity choppers pass overhead. The SHIELD Velocity chopper was similar to the X-Velocity, only with more armaments.

A fourth chopper landed on the ground next to the X-Men. Psylocke opened the rear passenger door and yelled, "Get in!" Nobody needed to be told twice as the Wendigos charged forward. The three choppers in the air fired their dual .50 caliber chain guns. The bullets ripped through the creatures' outer skin but their wound healed within seconds. Still, the amount of pain and power behind the guns forced the Wendigos to fall back.

When the last of the X-Men got in, Psylocke shut the door and the chopper took to the air. "Where's Fury?" demanded Logan, knowing who she worked for. "Where do you think we're going next?" shot back Braddock.

* * *

The helicopter landed near a mobile command center with dozens of agents from FBI, Chicago PD, Homeland Security, National Guard, etc. But the most prominent personal were SHIELD agents, who mostly around the command center.

Psylocke led them inside to find none other then Director Nick Fury waiting for them, with a toothpick in his mouth. "You people are like trouble magnets. You either go to it or it comes to you." remarked Fury.

"What is going on? What the heck were those things?" demanded Jean. "I think you should ask your friend Weapon X." said Fury. Everyone turned to Logan who growled at Fury. He didn't like being called that name. "One of these days Fury, you and me are going to have words about calling me that." growled Logan.

Logan then turned his attention back to the rest of the X-Men. "It's called Wendigo. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it's like a curse. One bit and then you become it." said Logan. "Like a werewolf." said Evan. "Only worse, just one of those things took out an entire Canadian military base. Now imagine that times a dozen." said Logan.

"Try a hundred." said Fury, who pointed to a television screen. It showed helicopter footage of dozens, possibly hundreds of Wendigos smashing their way around downtown Chicago. "They're not eating or killing people, they're just biting them. They're intentionally increasing their numbers." said Fury.

"Why?" asked Kitty. "I'll let our expert explain that." replied Fury who snapped his fingers. Two SHIELD agents (Bishop and Danvers) dragged in a cuffed Colonel Wraith. "YOU!!!!" yelled Logan, his claws popping out. He leaped right at him, only to be caught in mid-air by Carol Danvers. She slammed him to the ground and held him down. "Calm down tough guy." Carol said.

"That's enough! As much as I'd enjoy watching you take him apart, we need him Logan." said Fury. Logan grunted an acknowledgement and Carol let him up. "I believe introductions are in order. These are Agents Bishop and Danvers. Mutants like you." said Fury.

"Except we aren't a group of teenagers running around playing cowboy commando." said Braddock. Most of the X-Men glared at her. "Not to mention we are actual law enforcement agents and not some spandex clothed vigilantes." added Danvers. "Ah didn't see ya'll trying to stop Petra when she attacked that power plant." shot back Rogue.

"Enough! We have an army of monsters out there tearing this city apart." said Storm, calming everyone down. "It's just like I thought, mutants are nothing but wild savages." smirked Wraith. Bishop punched him hard in the stomach. "Start talking about that project of yours." Bishop said.

"Fine. Project Pandemic is basically the ultimate biological weapon. It spreads itself like a virus, using bite victims as it's hosts. It's not stupid, it knows that if it goes running around people would hunt it down. So it's creating an army that will take out anything in their path." said Wraith.

"So how do we fight these things?" asked Scott. "You can't. They're smart, they'll adapt to any strategy you throw at them. Given enough time, they'll overrun this entire country." said Wraith. "And you wanted to this happen?!" yelled Kurt. "Call it payback for cutting my strings after Weapon X." smirked Wraith. "We do have a way to get rid of these things. The President is considering a nuclear strike on the city." said Fury.

"What?!!! Are you crazy?!!!" the X-Men basically yelled all at once. "You'll kill millions of people." said Kitty. "And save billions in the process. We cannot allow these things to get out." shot back Fury. "There's got to be a better way!!!" yelled Logan.

Bishop punched Wraith again. "You didn't unleash that thing without someway to stop it. How?" demanded Bishop. Wraith grunted, not relenting. Logan walked up and grabbed Wraith by the shirt. "How about all of you give the two of us a few minutes alone." Logan said.

"Let's go." said Fury, motioning for everyone to leave. Wraith's defiant look quickly turned to absolute fear. "WAIT!! I'll talk just don't leave me alone with him." pleaded Wraith. Logan shoved him into a chair. "Start talking." growled Logan. "I created an anti-virus which removes the Wendigo curse from a host. But I didn't create much." said Wraith. "Where is it?" growled Logan.

* * *

Cain was sitting on his couch, finishing off the last of his beer. He couldn't keep doing this. The alcohol wasn't helping anymore. The only time he's felt good this week was getting that kid Kayla some food. He needed to re-evaluate what he was going to do with his life and it certainly wasn't going to be sitting around in a broken down trailer.

Suddenly, he heard screaming. It was Kayla's. He bolted out of his trailer and found her running away from a massive creature that looked like the abominable snowman. Cain charged right at it, roaring as if he were an animal himself.

He slammed his body into the creature, sending flying into a nearby tree. The impact was so powerful, the tree was uprooted and fell over. The creature got back to it's feet and Cain tackled it from behind. He held the monster on the ground and started pounding it in the face. After about fifteen seconds of pounding the living crap out of it, it slumped unconscious.

Cain immediately ran over to a terrified Kayla. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded her head. "It bite mommy." she said. Cain glanced back at the girl's trailer where the mother was staggering out with a large bite wound on her shoulder.

Suddenly, the mother began roaring and growling like an animal. She ripped her clothes off as she began to change. To Cain's shock, she was turning into the same thing he just fought. The now changed mother charged right at them…only to have Juggernaut uppercut her into the air. She flew out of sight.

"We gotta get you outta here." Cain told Kayla. "But mommy." pleaded Kayla. "No buts." said Juggernaut as he picked her up and carried her off.

(Next chapter, X-Men and SHIELD have a cure but have to lure every single Wendigo to one area in order for it to work. Unfortunately, they don't have the means to do it but we all know who does.)


	37. Epidemic

(Sorry for the delay, finals and projects are killing me. But you didn't select this chapter to hear me moan, you came to find out what happens next. Well, your wish is my command.)

Carol Danvers came running into the command center carrying a large vial canister. "That's it." said Wraith, confirming it was the antidote. "This is an aerosol canister. How far can this amount reach?" demanded Bishop. "Seven hundred square feet." replied Wraith.

"Seven hundred feet?! We would have to cram every one of those things in a seven hundred square foot killzone?! It can't be done." said Braddock. "Then you won't mind me giving it a shot." said Logan who grabbed the canister.

"What are you doing?" asked Storm. "When we attacked one of those things, it called for backup. My guess is if we manage to attack one, the others will come running to help." said Logan. "We could barely hold our own against a dozen of those things. How are we supposed to handle a hundred or more?" asked Scott.

"None of you are helping me. I'm going at it alone." said Logan before walking outside.

The X-Men chased after Logan who didn't slow down, his eyes were filled with determination. "Are you out of your mind? You can't take on that many by yourself!" yelled Jean. "I'm the only here who can take anything they've got and keep going." said Logan, who didn't slow down to talk.

"You're not doing this alone." said Summers. "You're not in charge of me boyscout." replied Logan. The team passed a line of civilians moving into the refugee area. Suddenly, someone screamed and for good reason.

A Wendigo busted through the perimeter fence, easily shrugging off any bullet fire. Logan was about to charge at it when suddenly, Juggernaut appeared behind it and grabbed the monster by the tail. He pulled it back, right off it's feet. Then Cain spun around, still holding on. The two twirled around like a cyclone until Cain let go and the Wendigo went sailing off out of sight.

Juggernaut staggered a little, somewhat dizzy. The X-Men all looked at each other and then it hit Kitty. "Uhh guys. I think we've just found our solution." she said.

* * *

It took a little effort to calm Cain from attacking them but the mention of stopping these monsters got his attention. "Let me get this straight, you need my help to get everyone of those things in the same area so you can get 'em all with some gas." said Cain, summing everything up.

"Pretty much." grumbled Logan, who wasn't comfortable with this plan. "None of us would last very long in a fight against even a dozen of those things but I'm guessing you could." said Kitty. "I'll take that as a compliment." grunting Cain.

Fury pulled Logan aside. "You want to put the lives of millions in the hands of that maniac?" asked Fury, just as unhappy with this as Logan was. "Like it or not, not even the X-Men and your team together would last very long. He's all we've got." said Logan.

"You'll need to get them all in a wide open area, so you should probably lure them into Marquette Park. The creatures have elevated body heat so they're easy to pick up on infrared, even among other animals their size. Once we confirm they're all in the park, we'll set of the gas and hopefully get all 'em. If any of them get out and start multiplying again, the city is going to be leveled with a thermonuclear device." said Bishop. "No pressure." grunted Cain who snapped his helmet on. He walked off without saying another word to anyone.

* * *

Cain made a quick stop at the refugee tent where Kayla was. "Hey squirt." he said sitting down next to her. "Hi. Thanks for saving my life again." she replied. "No problem…I'm about to do something crazy and though it can't possibly happen but it might, I may not see you again." he said.

"But you're unstoppable." Kayla replied. "Yeah well…I suck at goodbyes." grumbled Cain, realized whatever thing he was about to say just got screwed up. "Then this isn't a goodbye, it's a see you later." she said.

"Uhh…right. What I meant to say is…I didn't save your life, you saved mine. My whole life I've been all about anger and hurting people. Every time I knocked around some punk who deserved it, I was happy for a little while but then I'd go into this…mood where my life seemed pointless and nothing would truly make me happy. So I'd smash something and it would make me happy for a moment but then that mood would come back. Then I met you. Seeing you smile made me smile, watching you laugh made me laugh. I never thought I could have real happiness until I met you and because that, you saved me." he told her.

Kayla hugged Cain's massive leg. Juggernaut patted her on the back. "I'm going to try and get your mom back. I promise." he told her. "Thank you...Cain." she said with tears of joy in her eyes.

* * *

The X-Men were in SHIELD helicopters over Marquette Park. Though they couldn't provide any ground support, they could provide some air support. Logan and Storm were in a chopper together, while the rest of the team was scattered among the various helicopters in the air. "Cain, you ready?" asked Logan into his intercom. "Just a sec." responded Cain's voice over the radio.

Juggernaut walked a Chicago street, the entire neighborhood was deserted. Everyone either took off running when the Wendigos attacked or where changed into one. A growl caught Cain's attention. He turned to see a Wendigo leaping towards him.

Cain caught the creature in mid-air, it's claws slashed against Juggernaut's skin but caused no damage. "Time to go for a ride." said Cain. He slammed the Wendigo's head into the pavement and took off running, dragging it's head along the ground as he ran.

He ran through cars, buildings, streetlights, nothing stopped him. Cain was right now living up to his name. The Wendigo howled in pain, it cries echoing across the city.

"It's working." said Fury who was in the chopper with Logan and Storm. On a satellite infrared scan of the city, thousands of massive red dots began to head towards the park. "They're all on their way." said Fury.

Juggernaut reached the park and body slammed the creature as hard as he could into the ground. The Wendigo moaned but it's wounds were already starting to heal. Angry howls from the approaching Wendigos echoed throughout the park.

"Come on." grunted Cain, waiting for them to come. One by one, the Wendigos began to emerge into the park from all sides by the hundreds. "COME ON! LET'S SEE YOU TRY AND STOP THE UNSTOPPABLE!" yelled Cain. He charged into the middle of the park, knocking aside Wendigos in his way like dominoes. Then he stomped his feet and stood his ground.

The creatures all rushed at him at once but with every movement of his hand, dozens of them were hurled away. He knocked them all away one by one or five by five depending on how hard he threw his punches. The injured Wendigos howled for reinforcements while they healed.

* * *

"Wait for it." said Fury. The majority of the red dots were inside the park but a few were still on their way. The plan was get them all inside before they strike. By now, thousands were inside the park. Dozens of them piled almost on top of each other to get to Cain. When all the dots were inside the park, Fury sprung the trap.

"All teams, open fire." ordered Fury into his radio. Then all of the helicopters began firing down on the park with missiles and chain guns. Storm summoned a lightning storm and sends dozens of lightning bolts hitting the park in rapid succession. Scott, Alex, and Bishop fired energy blasts down from their choppers. Bobby fired ice beams that would slow down or trip various Wendigos. Carol Danvers floated in the air, firing a massive fifty caliber machine gun that would normally be put on fighter jets. The rest of the X-Men such as Kurt, Kitty, and Evan dropped grenades from their choppers to the ground.

The park was turned into a giant chaotic war zone. Explosions and lightning bolts everywhere. But the majority of the attacks were near the edges of the park, which forced the Wendigo to move away from the edges and more towards the center. "Fire the canister as the west edge of the park. Storm, have the winds carry the gas across as soon once the canister is empty." ordered Logan.

* * *

Braddock fired the canister from a missile launcher from her chopper. The canister shattered and green gas seeped into the air. Once the gas spread to about five hundred feet long, Storm used her powers to blow the gas into the center of the park. The Wendigos all screeched when they breathed in the gas. They all gasped and howled in pain. Within a few moments, the Wendigos began to shrink and revert back to humans.

* * *

When they got back to the command center, all the refugees and soldiers alike broke out in applause. The X-Men and Juggernaut were seeing something they've never seen before, people applauding mutants for using their powers. Reporters took so many pictures, more of the X-Men had to shield their eyes.

"Wow, this is a real change for how people normally react to our powers." said Storm. "And a welcome change." said Bobby. "Amen to that." said Scott. Fury and the SHIELD mutants walked up beside them.

"I've got to say, I'm impressed. You've just saved not only the people who would have killed from nuking the city but every one of those people infected with the Wendigo curse." said Fury. "Not bad…for a bunch of kids." said Bishop.

Fury's phone rang. "Yes…What?...Bring him in." he said into his phone.

Cain, who was never a fan of the media, walked off towards the refugee center. To his surprise, he saw Kayla and her mother embracing each other. The sight of joy in Kayla's face brought a smile to his own face. Maybe there was something to this superhero business.

"X-Men, there's somebody I think you should see." said Fury who motioned for them to follow. He led them inside the command tent where Charles Xavier was waiting.

"Professor!!!" the X-Men all yelled at once with joy. Kurt teleported over to him and gave him a hug. Kitty was next to join in along with Scott, Jean, and Bobby. "Alright kids. Let the man breath." chuckled Logan.

"It's good to see all of you." said Xavier. "What happened to you?" asked Scott. "Mystique, she attacked me back at the insane asylum when I was meeting with Wanda. She took me to Stokes County Prison and put me in Cain's cell after she left him out. When Captain Stone saw Cain on the news, he found me and released me. I would have sent word to you but you were already busy with this situation. Words can't even begin to describe how proud I am of all of you. You saved millions on more then one occasion and stopped a possible war between mankind and mutants." explained Xavier.

"So…what now?" asked Kurt. "We go home but first, I'd like to make a little stop first." Xavier replied.

* * *

The others were nervous about Charles seeing his stepbrother but he insisted on it. He also wanted to do it alone. Charles found Cain standing around, probably deep in thought. "I hear you saved the lives of everyone in the city." Charles said to him.

Cain glared at his stepbrother. "Just because I was willing to help out doesn't mean I'm going to join your little goon squad." said Marko. "No, I know that's not what you want. What I want to know is where do we go from here." said Xavier.

Cain was silent for a moment. "I think I'm starting to see why you enjoy helping people. I've been using my powers for only myself my whole life. Well, it's time for a change. For the first time, I've got a reason to live." Cain finally said.

"As for the two of us…I'm done hunting you. But don't expect a Christmas card." continued Cain. "I see. Well, your actions today will probably get you a pardon from the government so you won't have to worry about Stokes County anymore." said Xavier. "Not that anyone could send me back to begin with." chuckled Cain.

"Yes well, good luck." said Charles. Cain didn't say goodbye, he just turned and walked away. A person's feelings don't just change overnight but to Charles's, this was a good new beginning.

* * *

"Turn it up." said Domino. She and the rest of the Acolytes were sitting in front of a television in Magneto's hideout. Gambit turned up the volume.

"Authorities are called the mutant's actions some of the most bravest and most heroic they have ever seen. Public opinion of the matter is split but most we have talked too have called the X-Men heroes." said the new castor before the television turned off by itself.

The Acolytes turned around and saw their leader Magneto standing beside Exodus. It didn't take anyone long to realize Magneto shut off the television. "It seems Xavier's students have averted war yet again." said Exodus. "War against the humans cannot be stopped. All the X-Men have done is delay the inevitable." replied Magneto.

Lorna Dale stepped into the room. "And when the time comes, we'll be ready for them." she said.

(The Acolytes it seems have a new member. Next chapter, first day back to school for the X-Men. But Pietro, Kine, and Terrance plan on it being a very miserable one. Expect lots of superglue and mousetraps in very ingenious ways. Meanwhile, something happens to Wanda that may be the end for both the X-Men and Brotherhood.)


	38. Mainstream

(Okay, I was planning on having more pranks for this chapter but once I started typing it, I'd decided to keep them to a minimum and set up for the next chapter. Hurray! Finally, I'm back to writing Brotherhood chapters and this one is specifically on them. Please review.)

There's no place like home. Not really, the whole place was still a mess thanks to Wanda's "training" sessions. Personally, Lance considered them to be her personal freak out moments. At least things were getting somewhat back to normal.

Pietro zipped around the house one last time, popping in front of the others with five electronic bugs. He put a finger up to his mouth, indicating for everyone to be quiet. He moved towards the front door window and pointed to a black van was parked on the street.

Even someone with Blob's intelligence could figure out it was a surveillance van. Pietro creeped silently as he could to a glass vase. It was something that Mystique bought just before that whole Area 51 thing so the boys considered it fair game.

He set the bugs inside gently and pulled his hand out. Then he picked up the vase slowly…and smashed it as hard as he could into the wall. The van rocked on it's wheels, no doubt the FBI or whatever agents inside jumping out of their seats. That'll teach to keep their headphones quieter.

The Brotherhood all busted up laughing. "That'll show'em." snickered Toad. "Well, so what do we do now? Send those guys some soggy donuts?" asked Fred. "Nah, do you think they'll try and send another one of those social workers again?" asked Toad.

"Not a chance, we scared three of 'em away last week alone. It's a shame we can't use the whole haunted mansion trick like we used to, those were fun times." said Lance.

"Yeah, but now everybody knows our little secret so it doesn't fool them anymore. Still those were good days." said John. "Yeah, Wanda would have probably enjoyed getting rid of those losers if she ever comes back." said Lance. The others didn't notice Pietro, Kine, and Chris sneaking out the back.

"So, you think we should go to school?" asked John. Lance, Toad, and Fred looked at him as if he was insane.

"Are you crazy? The whole school may have hated us before but now it down right condemns us. Heck, Xavier was lucky to get that whole mutant suspension lifted. And for what? Do you actually think Kelly's going to let a bunch of mutants graduate from his school? Even if he did, what good will it do us? Nobody's going to hire us because we're all freaks to them." said Lance.

"At least we could get free food, we're still on the free lunch program." replied John. "Hey, he's got a good point. Let's go." said Fred. Lance sighed, "Once again Fred, you've proven that your brain is inside your stomach and not your head."

"Shut up!" yelled Fred. "I know why Lance doesn't want to go back to school, he doesn't want to see a certain pussycat." snickered Toad. "Don't go there Toad." growled Lance. "Okay, maybe I'll go to her. Here kitty kitty kitty." chucked Toad.

Lance tried to smack him but Toad jumped away and landed on Fred's shoulders. Fred was laughing just as hard as Toad was. Lance got angry, the ground shaking. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door.

"Is that Kitty?" asked Toad. They all walked to the door and opened it. To their surprise, their visitor was Principal Robert Kelly. "Hello boys." he said. "Principal Kelly." said a surprised Lance.

"Lance, you did it all wrong. Don't address him in a manner of respect. Address him the way he should be. Racist, duesh, jerk weed, hate mongerer, deadbeat. Those are things that come to my mind after I saw your little public speech about the mutant menace." growled John.

"Relax Mr. Allerdyce, I'm just personally inviting you all to come back to school. No matter what my opinions are, I will obey the school board's decisions." said Kelly. "Spoken like a true politician." muttered John.

"No way, we don't go anywhere we're not wanted." said Fred. "Since when?" asked Toad. "I'm sure you won't be bothered by anyone, in fact I think they're all afraid of you." said Kelly.

While John cast a suspicious glare on the principal, the rest of the mutants all smiled. "Hey, it's just like…Hmm…Hey Fred, what's that thing my mom always told me." asked Toad. "You're an ugly baby." replied Fred. "Besides that." said Toad. "Get out." answered Fred.

"No…Now I remember, if you can't be cool then be feared." said Toad. Lance turned back to Kelly. "We'll be there." he said before slamming the door shut.

"That bloke wants us to go to school and make a disaster out of the day. That way, he'll have extra leverage at tonight's school board meeting and kick all us muties out of Bayville High." said John.

"So? If we get those X-Geeks suspended, so much the better." said Toad. "Actually, I've got a better idea...Wait a minute, where's Pietro and the camera brothers?" said John, realizing they were missing a few members.

* * *

Chris and Kine stood at attention, dressed in camouflage and green paint on their faces. Pietro walked back and forth in front of them, dressed as a military general.

"Gentleman, we have met the enemy and they are geeks. Losers of the most pathetic kind. It's like a bunch of monkeys and a few pieces of crap made love and out came Daniels and his buddies. And now we have learned from our intelligence sources that the bald headed crack pot that is their leader is sending them back to school. This presents a prime opportunity to add misery to what will be no doubt the worst days in those losers' lives. Am I right soldiers?" Pietro said.

"Sir yes sir." Kine and Chris said. "Technically, I should be addressed as great almighty sir." said Pietro. "Don't push it Pietro." growled Chris. "Fine." huffed Maximoff.

"Getting back to the matter at hand. I trust everyone has their equipment and ordinance accounted for?" asked Pietro. "Sir yes sir." said Kine and Chris. "Ten hut…wait a minute, isn't that supposed to be said before a superior officer speaks?...Oh well, move out." said Pietro.

* * *

"Hold it steady." growled Pietro as he wobbled on top of Chris and Kine's shoulders. He was looking through a window to get a good view of Evan's locker. "C'mon Evan, you're second period is up. Better move it or you're going to be late for lunch." Pietro said to himself.

Sure enough, Evan came walking down the hallway getting nasty looks from other students. He passed by them and unlocked his locker. As soon as he opened it, a boxing glove on a spring coil came flying out and hit him in the face. Evan fell to the ground unconscious.

Pietro busted up laughing. "Yes! Yes! Eat it Daniels!" he yelled. "You know, I sometimes think Pietro's obsession with Sypke's misery is a little…strange." Kine said to Chris. "Maybe he's in love with him." chuckled Chris.

Pietro suddenly leaped down on top of Chris and started strangling him. "Take it back! Take it back!" Maximoff yelled.

* * *

Later, the three pranksters were hiding in bushes and using binoculars to glance through windows from a distance. Their newest target, Scott Summer's Economics class. "Here he comes." said an excited Chris. Scott was sitting down at his desk. The three all started giggling. "Just wait till he tries to get up." said Kine.

Scott felt something underneath his pants, some kind of liquid. He tries to stand up but ends up taking the whole desk with him. The whole class watched with amusement as Summers realized the liquid on his chair was superglue. And to top it off, Summers got detention.

Kine and Chris cleaned the makeup off their faces and dressed in normal clothing as they headed towards their next target: Jean's gym class. They hide behind the bleachers and watched as practically the entire class was bullying Jean during basketball.

Jean was knocked down again and again. "Ouch, that's just unkind." said Chris. "Then how about we help out?" chuckled Kine. Benedict used his powers to cause the players to trip on their feet anytime they grabbed the basketball.

Finally Jean got the ball and then everyone except her tripped on their feet to the floor. "Hey, she used her powers!" yelled one of the students. "What? No, I didn't…" pleaded Jean.

"Hit the bench Grey." ordered the teacher. Kine and Terrance high-fived each other. As a little bonus, Kine sent a neural command that forced one of the students to throw the basketball right into the teacher's face.

* * *

Toad, Fred, John, and Lance all arrived at the school to get a free lunch. "So, how about we just bust in and announce ourselves." suggested Toad. "Why not? It's not like we're going to be able to sneak inside." said Lance.

The four busted into the school, only to find it already chaotic. In fact, no one noticed them as everybody was too busy trying to avoid walking on thousands of mousetraps that were scattered across the floor.

"How could somebody get this many mousetraps into the school without anybody seeing him?...It's the mutants. It's all the mutant's fault! It's all their fault!" yelled Kelly who was now entering a nervous breakdown. "Did you hear the news? They found a bunch of mousetraps inside those mutie's lockers, especially that spikey one." said one student to another.

The four Brotherhood members instantly knew who was behind this. "Pietro." they all said at once. "You've got to admit, he's pretty creative." said John. The four headed into the lunchroom. They got hostile looks from everybody as soon as they stepped inside.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT?!" yelled Fred. Everybody instantly turned away in fear and got back to whatever they were doing. "Way to go Fred man." said Toad. "I dare one of them to make fun of me now." said Fred.

The four got their lunch from the terrified lunch ladies and sat down in their usual spot. "So John, you said you've got a plan." said Lance. "Yeah, let's not get the X-Geeks kicked out of school. Let 'em stay I say." said John.

"Wait a minute, you actually want them to stay here?" asked a confused Toad. "Yeah, because then they'll have to endure all the insults, pranks, bigotry, looks, and all the torture they'll suffer coming here. Think about it, they'll suffer more going to school then staying in their protected Xavier Institute for Losers." explained John with a smile.

"Hey, you've got a point. Life's gonna be hell for all those geeks here. John, you're an evil man." chuckled Fred. "Only when I'm near fireworks." smirked John.

Pietro, Kine, and Terrance joined the rest of the Brotherhood at the table. "Hi ya fellas, we've been a bit busy." said Pietro. "Yeah, we noticed your handiwork in the hallway." said Lance. "You thought that was bad? You should have seen what I did in the girls' locker room." chuckled Pietro.

The others caught Pietro, Kine, and Terrance on their idea of keeping the X-Men in school and they agreed. Then the Brotherhood noticed something standing next to their table, none other then the one person they hated just as much as the X-Men: Duncan Matthews. "Well well, if it isn't Sir Dumalot come to get a lesson in what happens when he comes near our table." said Kine.

All the mutants got to their feet, ready to pound him. "Whoa, easy guys. I just came here to talk." said Duncan, holding up his hands. "Why would we want to talk to you after all the times you've insulted and messed with us?" growled Toad. "Because we both have something in common, we both hate Scott Summers." replied Duncan.

"You've got thirty seconds to get to a point." said Lance. "I want to give Summers what's coming but his buddies always back him up." said Duncan. "And you want us to back you up, is that it?" said Terrance.

"I don't think…" John started to say before Pietro interrupted him. "We'll do it. When's it going down?" Quicksilver said. "Tonight at the school board meeting. Me and a couple of others will be there." said Duncan. "We'll be there now get lost." said Pietro.

Duncan and the others were in an uproar. "Are you crazy? That's Duncan! You want us to work with him?!" yelled Fred. "I'd rather go after him then the X-snobs." said Toad.

"Relax kiddies. We're not helping Duncan. I've got something much better in mind." chuckled Pietro.

* * *

Wanda was continuing her search for Magneto and that search was going nowhere fast. But she was tipped off about a mutant named Caliban who had the ability to locate mutants just by thinking it. Hopefully, he'll be able to tell her what hole Magneto was hiding in.

She was now in a slums neighborhood, a usually spot where the Morlocks were spotted in. She already had to hex several people who tried to follow her, most likely bandits. She was about to turn into an alley when a bright light blinded her.

Wanda covered her eyes as a gush of wind nearly knocked her off her feet. She managed to make out what looked like a circle being formed in the air. A figure stepped out of it, a man in silvor armor, white cape, and a helmet. He turned and walked away.

Wanda was about to follow him when she noticed something else coming out of the circle. A demonic looking transparent being flew out, glancing around and fixed it's eyes on Wanda. It flew towards her. Wanda threw a hex bolt in fear but to her surprise, it passed harmlessly through the creature.

Wanda screamed as the being flew right into her, passing into her body like a ghost. Instantly, she began to lose control. Her mind was being forced aside as something powerful took over. Wanda was gone, her consciousness suppressed.

The being glanced at it's new hands and felt incredible power surging through them. It cast a hex bolt which caused a nearby garbage can to spontaneously combust. It sent another hex bolt, this time making a stop sign seemingly come to live. Several beer bottles flew into the air and floated around the body.

Yes! This host was perfect. Her powers were incredible. This body was exactly the one it needed to get revenge. "I'm back Xavier, and this time you're precious X-Men die with you." chuckled Shadow King.

(Shadow King is back and he's not in a good mood as you can imagine. The Brotherhood and X-Men are forced to cooperate once again when a Shadow King possessed Wanda tries to kill them, Xavier, and everyone else at the school board meeting.)

Deadpool: That's all?! C'mon! Your season three preview sucked and told nobody anything about what's going to happen. And what about me? You said I was gonna be in this fic.

Hardboiled: Chill out Wade, you're popping up soon.

Deadpool: Another non-specific preview of my role. I better at least get Megan Fox as my love interest. Or maybe Katee Sackhoff. Maybe Tricia Helfer or Jessica Biel. Did I mention Jessica Alba and I would have beautiful children together?

Hardboiled: WILL YOU SHUT UP?!! Fine, I'll blab. Future chapters include Mojo abducting the X-Men for his games. A mutant named Switch comes to Bayville and mind swipes the X-Men with his own robbery crew. Mystique returns, Copycat returns but not in the way you expect her, and a shocking twist none of you will see coming.

Deadpool: Now that is a much preview…BUT YOU STILL DIDN'T MENTION ME!!!!

Hardboiled: (groans) I'm getting a headache.


	39. Have a Deadpool Christmas

(Hello folks, I'm sure you were expecting the conclusion to my current storyline but with it being Christmas, I had to write something special for the holidays. And don't believe a word you hear from the special guest, he's a complete idiot.)

Lance was sitting in the living room with the rest of the Brotherhood and was currently being annoyed by Fred. It was currently Christmas Eve. "Hey Lance, are you sure Santa's still going to come? I'm probably on his naught list." said Fred. "For the last time Freddy, you'll get something." said an annoyed Lance.

"I'm sure now will you stop talking about that?" growled Lance. He couldn't believe that Toad and Freddy still believed in Santa Clause. They were in high school for crying out loud.

"Hey fellas, we're done with our presents. Time to hit the sack." said Pietro. Everyone agreed and headed to their rooms. Then they heard a loud crash downstairs. The Brotherhood raced down to Deadpool who just busted into the house.

"Man your battlestations!" he yelled. Wade quickly began nailing wooden boards across the windows and doors. "Who the heck is this guy?" yelled Lance. Deadpool teleported away then popped back with a massive .50 caliber chaingun. "I'll put this upstairs, we'll get a better shot from up there." he said before teleporting away.

Within a matter of minutes, the Brotherhood watched in absolute disbelief as Deadpool turned their home into a fortress with missile launchers on the roof, a flamethrower aimed at the chimney, and landmines in front of all the doors.

"There, I think we're safe." said Wade. "Who the heck are you and what are you doing?!" yelled Pietro. "The name's Wade Wilson but I prefer Deadpool cause it sounds spiffy. You my friends are terrible danger. Santa is coming." said Wilson.

"Santa?" the Brotherhood all asked at once. "That's right. That fat old man won't take us alive!" Deadpool said proudly. "Why would Santa take us?" asked Fred.

"Let me ask you all this. Why does Santa hands out gifts and sneak into little kids rooms?" asked Deadpool. "Cause he's a pedophile." joked John. "EXACTLY! He gives presents to the good kids and who knows what else, probably hypnotizes them into forgetting what he does to them." said Deadpool.

Everyone except Toad and Fred all moaned. "You've got to be kidding me." said John. "When was the last time you got a cat scan?" asked Kine. "Cat scan? What the heck does a cat have to do with Santa Clause?" asked Deadpool. "Never mind." grumbled Kine.

"But…what does he do to the bad kids?" asks a nervous Toad. "He abducts them and takes them to the north pole where they are experimented on and turned into his elfven slaves." said Wilson. "AHHHHH!" Toad and Fred screamed at once and run off.

"Now look what you've done, you scared them." said Terrance. "This is no time to be pointing fingers. We must be ready." said Deadpool. An alarm went off on Wade's belt. "That's my proximity alarm. We have an intruder." said Wade.

He teleported upstairs and aimed his massive chaingun out the only open window. The Brotherhood (minus Fred and Toad) all came running into the attic. "It's just a deer." said Lance, seeing what it was.

"IT'S RUDOPLH!" yelled Deadpool, who fired away at the deer. The animal quickly took off running, no bullets hit it. "HAHAHAHA! Take your red nosed wussy!" yelled Deadpool.

"This guy is insane." whispered Pietro. "Rudolph is just as dangerous as Santa. Remember that part of the song where they sing all the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names?" asked Deadpool.

"I take it there's a point to this." grumbled Lance. "Of course, they used to laugh and call him names because RUDOLPH KILLED THEM ALL!" yelled Wade. "Oh brother." sighed Kine.

"He's waiting for us to lower our guard. Well that's not going to happen! I'm going to take the fight to them!" yelled Deadpool who teleported away.

"Thank goodness, I was afraid we were going to have to fight that maniac." said Terrance. "Hey that bloke left behind some fireworks. What a nice guy." said John who walked off with some dangerous looking fireworks.

"Well now we have to go convince Freddy and Toad that Santa Clause isn't real and he's also not a pedophile." said Lance. The others heard an explosion downstairs where John was laughing like a maniac as he set off the fireworks inside the house. "God bless us, everyone of us because we could sure use it right about now." groaned Lance.

* * *

Scott Summers and Rogue watched the news in disbelief. "A maniac in a red mask ran around the city destroying every and all decorations with Santa Clause. He then proceeded to attack several civilians dressed at Santa Clause, fortunately no one was killed. But the property damage is numbered in the millions. The suspect is still at large after destroying several police cars with a chainsaw." said the newscaster.

"I can't believe there are maniacs running around like that." said Scott. Logan walked inside, holding a wrapped present. "Hey, which one of you left this in my room?" asked Logan.

"Wasn't us." said Rogue. Logan unwrapped the box and opened it…then it exploded in his face. Logan was hurled into the wall. "Logan! Are you alright?" said Scott as he and Rogue came running to his aide.

Logan now had a charred face and he wasn't happy. He got up and looked inside the torched box. Inside was a metal sheet with engravings on it. **Hey Logan. It's your favorite old black ops killer Deadpool just wanting to wish my old friend a very merry Christmas. I thought about getting you a puppy but an exploding mine in your face just seemed more appropriate to you. Happy Hanukah!**

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" yelled Logan.

(HAHAHAHAHA! Have a merry Christmas folks and please do not shoot any people dressed up as Santa.)

DEADPOOL: People around the world, I make this plea to all free citizens. We must take up the banner and fight the old fat menace that is Santa Clause. Join me in the search at the north pole. (he teleports away)

(Okay…Like I was saying. Happy Holidays fanfic lovers.)


	40. The Fall of the Shadow

(Sorry for the long delay, I took a much needed break from the Brotherhood to work on my other stuff. But now I'm back with a brand new chapter. Hope you all enjoy it and please review, I can't get enough of them. One shout out to TrickQuestion, saying I should work at Marvel is probably one of the greatest compliments I've ever been given. Thank you all once again.)

Scott, Rogue, Kitty, and Evan had just arrived at the school board meeting. Xavier, Jean, and Kurt were already inside, the meeting already underway. Jean was the only one actually speaking there but the others were coming for moral support. The four were about to head into the building until an expensive looking car pulled up with Duncan Matthews and four of his jock buddies. "Hey Summers, we've got unfinished business." said Duncan as the jocks all got out.

"Oh brother, give the macho act a rest will ya." grumbled Kitty. "The rest of you go on inside, this is between me and him. Man to man." said Duncan. Evan stepped up to him, no fear in his eyes. "We're not going anywhere." Daniels said. All of a sudden, an armored truck pulled in front of Duncan's car. Kine and Terrence jumped out of the front and quickly ran to the back to open the rear doors.

Suddenly, Duncan and his buddies found themselves walking towards the truck against their own will. "Hey, what's going on?" yelled Duncan. "For he's the jolly dumb fellow, for he's the jolly dumb fellow, for he's the jolly dumb felllllloooooooooooowwwww…that all the girls deny." sang Terrence and Kine as the jocks climbed into the back. The two mutants then slammed the doors shut and locked it with a huge padlock. Inside, Duncan and his buddies were banging against the door. "Hey, let us out of here!" yelled Matthews. "Hey, why are there bowling balls in here?" asked one of the jocks.

The rest of the Brotherhood all pulled up in Alver's jeep. "Toad, I believe the time has come for you to learn how to drive. Pietro, would you be so kind as show Mr. Tolensky how?" asked Kine. "Hop aboard slime breath, it's time for Maximoff's Drivers Ed." said Pietro. The X-Men watched in disbelief as Toad jumped into the truck's driver seat and Pietro zipped into the passenger seat. "Alright now remember Toad, always put the peddle to the metal as fast as possible as well as hit the brakes as suddenly and as hard as you can." said Pietro.

"Right." said Toad, starting the ignition. He accelerated very fast and hit the brakes almost instantly after. The bowling balls bounced around in the back along with Duncan and his buddies' screams. "Uhh…should we like do something?" asked Kitty. "Are ya'll kidding? This is the best entertainment Ah've seen all week." said Rogue. Toad continued tormenting the jocks by constantly accelerating and stopping. "Very good Toad, you're not Dale Earnhardt but you are making baby steps." said Pietro.

"What's going on?" demanded Scott. "What does it look like Summers? We're saving your hides again and quite frankly, we're sick of it." said Alvers. "Yeah, our cooperation streak ends here. From now on, we help only ourselves. We will no longer aide or participate in anything that might benefit you losers." said Fred.

"That's right. We only did this so you morons will stay in school. It'll be far more torture then staying at old man baldie's mutie retreat 24/7." said John. "And what's even better, you're doing this all for nothing. I mean, you don't really think graduating high school is going to accomplish anything do you? No college is going to accept you afterwards and no company will employ you either. Face it, the only people who might be interested in you is either SHIELD or the United States military. But then again, being the self-important idealists you are, even that's doubtful." said Kine.

The armored car came back around the street with Toad making a very sharp 180 degree turn. "Say you're sorry for all those things you did to me. SAY IT DUNCAN!" yelled Toad, making sure the "passengers" could hear him. "Okay, I'm sorry." whimpered Duncan from the back. "Hey look it's my sweetums!" yelled Toad, happily pointing to the top of a nearby building. Pietro glanced up to see Wanda standing on top of it. "What the…What's she doing here?" asked Pietro.

Wanda lifted up her hands and then everything went to hell. Lance screamed as a tremor started shaking the entire area. He held his head in pain as the others tried to stay on their feet. "Lance, what are you doing?" yelled Kine. "It's not me, I can't control it." groaned Lance. Several cars levitated into the air and shot towards the mutants. Blob ran in front of everyone else and knocked the vehicles aside. A nearby power line seemed to come alive as it's wire snapped free and wrapped around Blob. He screamed as electricity surged throughout his body.

Scott removed his glasses and fired optic beams that cut Blob free. "What is she doing?" yelled Rogue who ducked to avoid getting decapitated by a street sign that flew overhead. "XAVIER!" yelled Wanda in a rage of fury. Several nearby cars exploded, their flames then moving towards the X-Men as if they were alive. "John, put those fires out." ordered Scott. "I can't do anything, Wanda's screwing with my powers." shot back John. Everyone took off running as the flames chased after them.

* * *

Xavier sat inside the auditorium, listening to Jean's speech. She was speaking from the heart rather then quoting some passionate speeches. He couldn't be prouder of her when she finished, it was well done and seemed to move everyone…except Principal Kelly. The happy moment quickly turned to horror when the whole auditorium began to shake. The walls began to crack. Everyone began to scream and panic, bolting for the doors. The front doors went flying off their hinges, nearly decapitating a group of panic pedestrians that Kurt teleported out of the way.

Wanda stepped inside the room, her face filled with pure hatred. Xavier tried to send a psychic blast to disable her but her mind was blocked. It was then that he realized something was inside of her, controlling her. "Hello Charles." Wanda said, with a sinister smile. "Farouk…But how did you?" said a dumbfounded Xavier. Farouk sent Xavier flying out of his wheelchair and into the wall. Kurt leaped at Wanda but was cast aside with a hex bolt. Jean tried to use her telepathy but Farouk sent it right back at her, knocking her to the ground. "Let's take this discussion to a more scenic location." smirked Farouk. Xavier suddenly levitated in the air, moving towards the stairwell.

* * *

Outside, the X-Men and Brotherhood were still recovering from their battle with Wanda. Though the term battle wasn't really appropriate, more like getting pounded. "Honestly, why can't we ever deal with a nice and happy Wanda?" grumbled Chris. "She went inside, let's go." said Scott. "You do that, we'll do the smart thing and head for the hills." said John. "Ya'll running? Why am Ah not surprised?" grumbled Rogue.

"My sweetums just needs her alone time. Just give her some time and she'll back to her usual self." said Toad. "Yeah, her usual put Toad through the wall self." chuckled Kine. "She's just playing hard to get." shot back Toad.

Up on the rooftop of the building, Xavier landed hard near the edge. Farouk emerged from the stairway, admiring his newfound powers. "I must thank you Charles, without your doing I would have never obtained this host. Her powers are near limitless. How about I show you?" chuckled Farouk.

"Hey, there she is!" said Spyke, pointed to the rooftop. With a wave of Wanda's hand, everything from stop signs, cars, debris, all shot into the air and formed into a large vortex. This debris tornado moved towards the X-Men. Scott tried to fire an optic beam at Wanda but the blast bend halfway there. Several nearby cars started up by themselves and spun their wheels, charging right at the mutants. While the X-Men and Brotherhood tried to avoid the demolition derby, Farouk watched from above quite amused.

Blob blocked an incoming car and hurled it up at Farouk. A simple wave of the head later, the car came flying back at Blob. He was knocked off his feet. "This is the most entertainment I've had in a long time." chuckled Farouk. "Farouk, if you want to make someone suffer then make it me. Those children had nothing to do with your imprisonment." said Charles. Farouk turned to Xavier, furious. "IMPRISONMENT?! More like murder!" he yelled.

Xavier slide across the roof to the other side, just stopping short of falling off. "My body died after you sent my mind into the astral plane. You committed murder despite what you tell your students about not killing. You are a hypocrite to your own message." laughed Farouk.

"There are some beings who are so evil, so destructive, that they don't deserve mercy. Killing them is an act of mercy to the rest of the world." shot back Xavier. "I'm sure your students would be horrified to hear you say that but it bring me such satisfaction that you are a realist, no matter what you preach." mocked Farouk.

Farouk turned back to the parking lot below and intensified his debris twister. Kitty and Kurt began getting civilians to safety while the rest of the mutants struggled to stay alive. "If they knew how far you'd go to safeguard their ideal fantasy, they would be crushed. I'll do them a favor and kill them before they find out." smirked Farouk.

"NOOO!" yelled Xavier who sent the most powerful psychic blast he could give. Farouk staggered somewhat, managing to keep his mental shield up. With a simple wave of the hand, Xavier was rendered powerless. "Nice try Charles but you're simply not strong enough." laughed Farouk.

Down below, a flying brick hit Kine in the back of the head. He fell to the ground unconscious. Chris watched in horror and quickly ran over to him. "Ben, you okay buddy?" he asked, trying to shake him awake. Kine didn't respond. Chris glared angrily up at Farouk and sent a powerful wave of psy static at him. Farouk screamed in pain. His debris twister fell apart and his "ghost" cars shut off. "WHAT…IS…THIS?" yelled Farouk in pain. Xavier remember that Farouk was made out of pure psychic energy and Chris's psy static disables any form of psychic energy.

"Don't stop, keep at him" Xavier sent to Chris in a telepathic message. "Stay out of my head old man." Chris shot back before intensifying his static to prevent Xavier from doing it again. Xavier sent a psychic blast that knocked Farouk right out of Wanda. Wanda staggered back and fell over the edge of the building. "WANDA!" yelled a horrified Pietro. He zipped underneath her and created a vortex that slowed her fall. When she neared the ground, he leaped up and caught as she came down.

Shadow King fell to the parking lot, his form now visible to everyone. Chris continued pounding him with psy static until the demonic entity began to break apart into pieces then disappeared. "Is he gone?" asked Lance. "Yeah, he's toast." said Chris, not sensing Farouk's psychic energy anymore.

Pietro helped Wanda to her feet. "You alright sis?" he asked. Wanda glared at Pietro, who gulped. She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Wanda wait, I was just…" pleaded Pietro. Then she did something he didn't expect. She pulled him closer and hugged him. "I'm sorry for blaming you." she whispered.

* * *

The rest of the night flew by pretty fast for the Brotherhood. After Pietro and Wanda's heartfelt reunion (By reunion, I mean that Wanda has forgiven Pietro and they are once again family.), they took Kine to a hospital. His injuries weren't severe but he was going to have to stay overnight.

The Brotherhood considered themselves lucky to have found a doctor who would actually treat Kine with all the mutant prejudice going around. But Doctor Donald Blake told them that he was a doctor who treated anyone, regardless of race, age, sex, or mutation. "Anyone who didn't treat a mutant because of prejudice is no doctor at all." he told them.

The Brotherhood all sat in Kine's room. Kine was asleep as was Chris, Blob was playing with a yo yo, and Toad watched television. "So Wanda, how did that Shadow King guy get into you?" asked Lance. "I don't know, there was some kind of portal or something. A man walked through it then Shadow King followed him." answered Wanda.

"Then who exactly is that guy then?" asked Pietro.

* * *

At Essex's laboratory, Sinister was hard at work into the night when he heard a disturbance in the hallway. He headed towards the door when Blockbuster came flying through it. The large young adult was hurled right past Sinister and into the wall. He groaned as he collapsed to the ground.

"You really need to hire some better help." said someone who walked through the door. He was dressed in silver armor, a white cape, and a helmet. "Who are you?" demanded Sinister.

"Let's just say, we work for the same employer." said the man who walked closer. Essex's eyes widened. "I'm come to speed up your research. You may call me Stryfe." said the man.

(And the plot thickens. Next chapter, Gambit pays the Brotherhood a visit but not the hostile kind. He also runs into a southern belle and goes out of his way to drive her insane. Please review.)


	41. Remy's little stroll through Bayville

(A short but funny little chapter for all you Romy fans out there. It was nice just to write a short chapter without any major story arc repercussions. Please review.)

Remy LeBeau wasn't one to voluntarily walk into a hornet's nest but that is exactly what he's about to do. He was standing outside the Brotherhood's Boarding House, about to step inside. This bunch of losers has changed into quite a formidable band of misfits and thugs ready to fight anyone that threatens them.

The boss wanted the Brotherhood on his side, unfortunately that might be difficult with Wanda and Pietro in the group. The two of them hated Magneto and would probably kill him rather then work with him. But still the others might be easier and in the coming war with the humans, they were going to need all the firepower they could muster.

Remy decided to do this his way and kicked the front door open. He didn't get a foot through the doorway before a fireball came flying towards his head. He ducked and rolled out of the way as Pyro hurled dozens of fireballs at him.

He tossed a card at John who ducked. The card exploded on the wall behind him, knocking the Australian to the ground. Before Remy could do anything else, he suddenly found himself unable to move. Lance and Kine stood behind him. Lance sent a tremor that hurled Remy towards the living room and onto the couch.

John got back to his feet and created a wall of flame around the couch. "You walked into the wrong house mate. Tonight we're havin' flame-broiled Cajun." said John. Remy regained control of his body and leaped over the flames. As soon as he landed, Kine sent another neural command that froze the Cajun's body.

"Relax, I just came here to talk." said Remy. Blob, Toad, and Chris ran into the living room and were ready to fight. "Where might the good ole' Maximoff siblings be at?" asked Remy.

"They're out, but don't worry. We'll wait for them to get back before the clobbering starts." said Toad, cracking his knuckles. "Perfect, this is just what I was hoping for." said Remy. The Brotherhood all exchanged confused looks.

"You wanted to get the crap beated out of you while Pietro and Wanda weren't here?" asked Fred. "No, I was hoping to avoid any form of physical violence but it couldn't be helped once firefly over there tried to turn me into a barbeque." said Remy.

"You should have thought about thought before busting into our house as an intruder. We have a very low tolerance level for people like that." said John. "Remy knows. He heard all about what you did to those FOH fellas that tried to torch your house." said Remy.

"Yeah, John has a bunch of clowns made of fire chase them around. It was more entertaining then the carnivals." laughed Freddy. "Start getting to a point Cajun. My patience is dwindling by the second." grumbled Lance.

"Alrighty then, you boys are all smart enough to know that a war is coming between our kind and the humans. Magneto's not stupid enough to ask you to join him but he does want to know if you boys could be depended on to protect your own kind." said Remy.

"Are you kidding me? In Magnuto's mind, he thinks he's protecting mutants from humans and what does he do? HE SHOWS THE WHOLE WORLD WHO WE ARE!!!" yelled Lance. "Yeah, how's exposing us helping us?" demanded Chris.

"Look, I'm not here to be in some stupid debut. I'm just here to state the facts. The fact is that Magneto is the one guy who's willing to take the humans head on. Everybody else is either hiding or trying to play nice. You boys are good but you're probably not going to be able to fight six billion humans. Magneto's not offering you anything. Just know that when you want to really start making a difference for your kind and yourselves, you know who to call." said Remy.

And with that said, Remy walked towards the door. The Brotherhood boys didn't try to stop him, meaning that they were at least considering Magneto's offer. It's true, they still hated his guts. But when the humans declare war, Remy was certain these boys would put that anger aside.

He was on his way back to the bus stop when he heard some yelling and arguing. It was only then that he realized that he was now walking next to the school. Remy noticed the bony porcupine called Spyke was in an argument with two punks. Remy knew they were punks because they were trying to dress like a bunch of gangsters but came off looking completely stupid.

Rogue tried to intervene when one of the punks (Remy'll call him Dumb.) shoved her to the ground. Remy was about to rush in and teach those boys some manners when bone spikes popped out of Evan's body. The so called "tough guys" quickly ran. "Kelly's gonna boot you out for this." said the other punk. (Remy'll call him Moron.)

Remy decided to intervene on the situation and waited for Dumb and Moron to run into him and those two never saw him coming. "I've got two words that I want you boys to listen to very carefully. Drop it. Nothing happened back there, got it?" said Remy, only now he wasn't talking with his usual charm. This time his voice was threatening.

"We didn't ask you." shot back Dumb, trying to act tough but the fear in his voice shattered his attempt at a bravado appearance. Remy just smirked as he took a pencil out of Moron's pocket. He charged it with kinetic energy and tossed it into a nearby tree. It exploded, shocking Dumb and Moron.

"If you two need me to explain further, I would happy to do so." smirked Remy. The two punks quickly shook their heads. "Leave the mutants alone." continued Remy. Dumb and Moron nodded their heads and quickly walked off.

Rogue came running up and then recognized the Cajun. "YOU!" she yelled. "Chere, what a coincidence. It's a beautiful day and I just happen to find a beautiful belle." smiled Remy, his charming voice back. "Gee, nice pick up line. How many girls did you try that one on?" snarled Rogue.

"You're the only one Petite. Tell me, still holding on to my card?" asked Remy, remembering the last time they saw each other Remy gave her his Ace of Hearts. "Look lame brain, Ah don't know if ya'll remembered but we're on opposite sides. Kitty tried it with Lance and all that brought was one problem after another. And now ya'll have the gall to try and flirt with me?" grumbled Rogue.

"You do still have my card." smirked Remy. "AHHHH! Why do I even bother talking to you?" growled Rogue. She turned to leave. "Wait, what's that behind your ear?" asked Remy. Rogue felt behind her ears and found nothing. Remy reached behind her head and when he brought his arm back, it was holding a small white flower.

"Whaddya know, I believe this is yours. Only beautiful things for someone as beautiful as you." said Remy before placing the flower in her hand. Rogue was stunned for a moment but managed to shake the cobwebs loose in her head.

"Ya'll think a few magic tricks are going to change anything? You're a thief and a goon who works for Magneto." said Rogue. "Oh I'm not just any thief, I'm a great thief. I learned from you after all." replied Remy. "WHAT?!!! ME?!!!!!" yelled Rogue.

"Yes, you stole my heart." smirked Remy. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Rogue before she stormed off. Remy kept smiling. "Ah yes, she can't resist me." Remy said to himself.

(Like I said, short but funny. Next chapter, Switch arrives at the Brotherhood house and wants Static's help in making a huge score. I'll finally be able to get in Christopher Terrance's background and how he met Ben Kine.)


	42. The Heist part 1

(Sorry for the delay. A new semester in college means a lot of new work to do. This chapter won't have any action in it but will set up nicely for the next one. Also, there will be random flashbacks of Chris's childhood in this chapter kinda of like Lost. I've surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time. HURRAY! Hopefully, it won't be the last. Hope you enjoy it and please review.)

Chris sat on the couch with the TV remote. He grunted as he flipped from one channel to the next. Nothing good was on. Either it was a rerun of something or it was a talk show that had everybody's favorite topic: The Mutant Menace."C'mon John, get out here." yelled Pietro who was banging on Pyro's door. For the past few days, the two Brotherhood members who dated X-Geeks were going through love withdrawal. To Chris, it was just pathetic seeing those two tough guys that Chris admired for their take no crap attitudes now walking around depressed 24/7.

"Go away." grumbled John from inside his room. "C'mon John, why are you so down? Just do what I do when this situation happens, find another girl." said Pietro. "You do that every week Pietro." replied John. "Which is why I'm an expert." shot back Pietro. Chris stopped listening to their conversation and got back to being bored from watching television. Finally, he just turned it off and tossed the controller to the floor. He looked at his reflection through the television and stared at it for a moment. He has that same look the last time it happened, Shadow King wasn't his first. But just like that psychic entity, Chris didn't regret doing it.

* * *

The memories were as clear as day. It was five years ago, Chris was twelve years old and had nothing. His father was dead, died of a brain aneurism, and his mother went into a psychic breakdown which got her committed to a mental asylum. So here he was, Christopher Terrance carrying all his belongings into an orphanage. This was the third time he's come back here. Three different families adopted him and those three so called "loving" families sent him right back. It was the same story. Every time he got emotional or angry, everyone around him would get headaches. Sometimes they would get very bad ones, painful ones. His foster parents would either think he's a freak or think he's a demon. Either way, he was always returned to sender in a sense. Rumors were flying about how he was going to have a new roommate, but Chris couldn't care less. There was already a betting pool among the orphanage staff about how long the roommate would last. Just like his foster families, Chris went through them like a knife through butter. The longest roommate he ever had lasted about a month.

There was a knock on the door but Chris didn't bother to answer it. It opened and in stepped Mrs. Hadden and some eleven year old. "Back again so soon. I think you broke your record." she said. Hadden never liked Chris and the feeling was mutual. "They still would last longer then you would." shot back Chris. He knew that was going to get him in trouble but quite frankly, he didn't care. Ruining that fat broad's day never got old. Hadden let that comment slide, she knew what happened when Chris got angry. "This is your new roommate, Benedict Kine. Say hello." said Hadden. Kine just walked over to his bed and start unpacking his stuff. So, the kid was defiant to authority as well. No wonder he and Chris got put together. "Well, I'll let you two get acquainted." Hadden said before leaving. No doubt just wanting to get away from both of them. "She needs to lay off the French fries." said Kine. Chris chuckled, maybe this guy will last longer then the rest.

* * *

A few days later, Chris was relaxing resting up against a tree in the backyard of the orphanage. He loved being alone, no attachments means no pain that goes with it. Chris found that out the hard way. Some yelling caught his attention. It was Kine and a loser named Marty. Marty was a sixteen year old pathetic loser who needed to get his rocks off by making everybody else's lives hell. Chris had a few run-ins with him, all ended with Marty getting a bad headache and leaving. Though Kine was in trouble, Chris was not motivated to help him. If he did that, everybody would start thinking he was a nice guy. Chris preferred being hated by everybody. Besides, Kine has to solve his own problems himself.

Marty slugged Kine in the face, dropping him. And no one's surprise, Hadden didn't come running out. She acts all nice when she has guests over but stops caring after everybody leaves. So anything that happens during that time is fair game. Marty spit on Kine, laughing. A crowd of other kids circled them, watching. Benedict growled, angry like never before. Suddenly, the crowd all charged at Marty. He was taken completely by surprise. The crowd knocked him to the ground and started pounding on him. Most of the group were either twelve or eleven year olds but when an entire mob of them started pounding on you, you're gonna get hurt. Chris watched all this in amazement. Something was up, none of those twerps had the guts to stand up to Marty and none of them were smart enough to gang up on him. Kine snuck away among all the chaos as Hadden finally came running out of the house.

* * *

Chris waited to confront Kine about what happened until later. Now it was night and the two were supposed to be asleep. Kine was trying to fall asleep but Chris had no intention of getting any shut eye until he got some answers. "So, what's it like? Being able to control people?" asked Chris. Kine's head shot up from his pillow. "I don't know what you're talking about." whispered Kine. "C'mon tough guy. I saw what happened earlier. Those twerps who jumped Marty don't have the guts to fight a squirrel." replied Chris. Kine lowered his head back onto his pillow and turned away. "Whatever." mumbled Kine.

Chris concentrated, causing Kine to get a headache. Not a bad one, but enough to get him to sit up. "What the…" said Kine who saw a smirking Chris. "Haven't you heard of my reputation? I give people headaches at will." chuckled Chris. "Whatever freak." grumbled Kine. "Takes one to know one and right now I'm looking at one." shot back Chris. "So what? You think that's makes us brothers or something?" grunted Kine. "No, but you know what they say. Birds of a feather flock together, yadda yadda yadda." said Chris.

* * *

A knock on the front door broke Chris's flashback. Who the heck was stupid enough to come knocking at the Brotherhood home? Chris was in no mood for the cops or reporters. He stormed over to the door and opened it. "Get los…" he yelled before he saw the visitor with his eyes. Chris stood their dumbfounded. "Hey bubby, it's been a long time." said Devon Alomar.

* * *

It was the first day of middle school when it happened. During recess, Chris was away from everyone else. He never had any so called friends and the new kid Kine wasn't exactly warming up to him. Then again, Chris didn't really care. While he was waiting for recess to end, he noticed somebody near the tree lines, out of sight to the teachers. It was a fellow student, male, but Chris couldn't really see who it was. Curious, he headed closer. When he got to the tree line, the student grabbed Chris and yanked him out of sight.

"What do you want?" the kid shouted. Kid wasn't exactly the right word since he was probably a few years older then Chris. In his hand was a lite cigarette. "Relax, I just curious." responded Chris. "Didn't your mother ever teach you about what that did to the cat?" asked the student. "She's in a nuthouse." growled Chris. The student didn't really know how to respond to that and took a whiff from his cigarette. "Well, at least your honest." he replied, certain that Chris wouldn't make something like that up. He noticed Chris looking at his cigarette and offered it to him. Chris took it and took in a whif. Like all new smokers, he breathed in too much and started coughing. The older kid laughed. "Don't feel bad, happens to every virgin smoker." he said. Chris handed him back the cigarette, not interested in it anymore. "What's your name?" asked the student. "Chris. Christopher Terrance." said Chris. "Name's Devon." he said.

* * *

"Hey man." Chris said, smiling. Devon and him clap hands together and embraced, like a brotherly hug. "I haven't seen you in almost five years." said Chris. "Yeah well, you were a hard man to track down. I didn't even have a clue where to look until you showed up on the news." replied Devon. "Who's this guy?" demanded Pietro who was standing behind them. "Relax, he's alright." said Chris. "You didn't answer my question. Who is he?" replied an impatient Pietro. Before Chris could respond, an explosion from John's room rocked the house. "Oops." John's voice echoed downstairs. "What did he blow up now?" groaned Pietro who zipped off. "Hey Chris, can we talk outside? It's important." Devon said. Chris nodded and they walked out onto the front lawn.

"No more surveillance detail I see." said Devon, noticing no nearby vehicles. "Yeah, we drove 'em insane. We would always send them donuts covered in Toad's slime everyday. They might have tossed them out but they couldn't get rid of the smell." smirked Chris. "I'll cut straight to the point. I need your help." said Devon. Chris eyed him for a second. "Help with what?" asked a suspicious Chris. "A job." Devon replied. Chris groaned, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Devon's usual means of income was stealing it. "I don't blame you for feeling like that but hear me out. There's a job coming up. It's a big one. I've already got the crew to pull it off. They're stupid and will do what they're told." explained Devon.

"Why do you need me then?" asked Chris. "Because the cops aren't the problem, your friends at the Xavier Institute are." replied Devon. "Wait a minute, you want me to take them out? Not a chance. First off, I washed my hands of those dorks long ago. I want nothing more to do with them. Second, I'm not in the killing business." said Chris. "Relax, I'm not talking about killing them. I just need your back. I can handle everyone of the X-Men except for one." said Devon. "Xavier." said Chris, knowing the answer. Chris's psy static made Xavier's powers useless on him and anyone around him. "Exactly. The X-Men are going to get involved and I'll take care of them. All I need you to do is make sure I don't need to worry about that crippled telepath." said Devon.

Chris was silent for a moment. Devon was always interested in some illegal scheme. Whether it was stripping cars for parts or simple convenient store robberies, Chris always went along with Devon. The older kid ran with a very dubious crowd but Chris didn't care. Devon became family at that time along with Kine. He showed Chris how to do everything from switching a VIN number in a car to pull off a convenient store robbery properly to jacking a car. If Devon didn't get sent away by his parents, Chris would have followed Devon into the organized crime business. "What's the job?" asked Chris. "There's a train that's going to pass through the Bayville area. It's operated by a major bank that uses the train to transport liquidated assets to New York City. Now, the recent shipment is mostly dollars, jewels, a bunch of things easily traceable." explained Devon.

"Then why bothering hitting it?" asked Chris. "The thing I've got my eye on is 150 million dollars worth of untraceable bearer bonds. Security will be small if any. The best defense they have is making sure nobody knows about the train." said Devon. "Then what are waiting for? Let's go back inside and tell the rest of the guys. Trust me, they'll all want in." said Chris, about to head back inside when Devon stopped him. "Hold up Chris. We don't need them. My crew is all we need." said Devon. "But they help…" Chris tried to plead. "They'd just get in the way. Besides, it would mean splitting up the profits up even more. We don't need them" said Devon. Something was up, it was in Devon's eyes. Chris could always tell when he was to something.

"What's this really about Dev? Start talking." demanded Chris. "Fine, this isn't about just a train robbery. It's about the X-Men. The information I got came from some very powerful people. If I just steal those bonds, they'd stick my head on a pick. So I had to make a deal." explained Devon. "What sort of deal?" asked Chris.

* * *

At the Xavier Institute, Charles was disturbed by an alarm coming from Cerebro. He checked over the readings and found that a new mutant just used his powers in Bayville. Scott entered Cerebro, Xavier summoned him a minute ago. "What's up Professor?" asked Scott. "Cerebro has detected a mutant in the Bayville area. His name is Devon Alomar and he's using his powers openly." replied Xavier. "Is he in trouble?" asked Scott. "Not for the moment. But with human mutant relations being the way they are, it's best not to take any chances." said Xavier. "You want us to go talk with him." said Scott. "Yes, but take the rest of the team with you. He may be one mutant but I sense a malice in him, he may not be friendly." said Xavier.

* * *

Devon returned to his hideout where the rest of his crew eagerly waited for him. They were all junkies and washouts who nobody wanted. That's why Devon recruited them. They were easy to manipulate. They consisted of a drug addict named Mickey, a former prostitute named Elena, two runaway brothers named Tony and Aaron, a former gang member Lucy, Kyle who jumped bail on a weapons charge, and Morgan, another junkie. "So is he in or out?" asked Mickey. "Relax, Chris is in. All we have to do now is wait for our tools to arrive." smirked Devon. The crew knew exactly what to do. Except Devon, they all walked inside of a large animal cage. Devon shut the cage door and locked it.

Devon already used his powers so the X-Men were no doubt already on there way here. He waited for about fifteen minutes before Devon heard movement inside the building. "Showtime." he smirked. The X-Men (consisting of Scott, Jean, Kitty, Rogue, Kurt, Evan, and Logan.) walked inside and were a little surprised at what they found. "Well well, if it isn't the freak police." said Devon. "What the heck's going on here? Why are they in a cage?" demanded Scott. "It's for your own protection. I wouldn't want you wondering around, not used to being normal." said Devon. The X-Men all gave him weird looks. "Ooookay." said Kitty. "Ah hope he's not getting asked to the Institute." mumbled Rogue. "Alright pal, let 'em out of the cage or else." growled Evan, popping out spikes. "Calm down porcupine." ordered Logan. He then turned his attention to Devon.

"Listen bub…" he started to say before Devon held up his hands and a bright flash blinded everyone. The X-Men regained their senses and found themselves inside the cage. "What just happened?" wondered Kurt. Logan tried summoning his claws but nothing happened. Kitty tried to run through the bars but just banged her head. To the X-Men's shock, they were looking at themselves outside the cage.

(From now on a "" around a name will indicate Switch's robbery crew to avoid confusion.)

"Sorry but we're the special ones now." said "Scott". "And that is why we call the boss Switch." said "Kitty". "It's a very useful power. Especially when you want to commit a crime. I just switch around one of my crew with some loser, have them rob a bank or something, and then let the poor schmuck take the fall. It's really quite brilliant." said Devon. The X-Men all glanced at each other and realized they didn't recognize anyone next to them. "I'm…in a girl's body!" yelled Spyke. "You better not even think about peeking." growled "Spyke". "Let us out of here!" yelled Jean. "Or what, you going to yell at us?" chuckled "Kurt". "We have friends who know where we are and they're going to come looking for us." said Scott. "And we'll be long gone by then. Look on the bright side, at least you'll be able to enjoy being normal for a time." said Devon. "Or in their case, being losers." snickered "Rogue." "Let's go. We've got some preparations to make." said Devon, leading his robbery crew out.

(I know that many people have written body swap fics but they were all mostly comedy and I wanted to make a serious one. I know I said no OCs in this fic and Switch's crew are all my own creations but they won't be important. Also, kasualkate29 asked just what exactly would Pyro, Kine, and Chris wear for battle uniforms. Since they weren't around when Mystique ran the house, they never really got any. So they basically just used normal clothing. Maybe I'll remedy that in a future chapter.)

(Next chapter, Switch tries to get his crew used to their new powers quick enough for the job. Chris deals with Kine's personal issues of Devon and the New Mutants have to save the day.)


	43. The Heist part 2

(Wow, it's been a while since I've updated. It's been due to personal problems that are still going on along with college and a part time job. Still, I will try to keep writing and posting. Please review and my thanks to any readers out there who put up with my inability to update quickly.)

Chris's first robbery consisted of a brick and a small duffel bag. It was at night, he snuck out of the orphanage earlier and met up with Devon. They broke into a jewelry store and grabbed everything they could in thirty seconds. Any longer then that and they risked the cops showing up. The most expensive jewels were under lock and key in a safe but some worthwhile ones were still in the display cases.

After gathering up as much as they could in the allowed time, Devon and Chris bolted. Devon had Chris go home so he wouldn't draw any suspicion. When he snuck back inside his bedroom, Kine was waiting for him. "How did it go?" he asked.

Chris pulled out a wade of cash from his pocket. It was his fee for helping. It was just about seventy bucks but for a twelve year old, it was a lot of money. The truth was, it was mostly an eye catch payment. A little something to get Chris interested in the future. He wouldn't be in some big heist or gig anytime soon but when Devon plans on hitting it big in the black market, he's going to need friends.

"When do I get to join in?" asked Kine, his eyes glittering at the sight of the money. "I'll put a good word in for you." replied Chris.

* * *

Chris was waiting in a junkyard for Devon and his crew to show up and it didn't take long. Chris still couldn't believe it, Devon was a mutant. He had the ability to switch people's minds into different bodies and undo it at will. It proved very useful in bank robberies but now Devon was interested in something much bigger.

Some powerful people approached him to perform a robbery and frame the X-Men for it. He wasn't actually being paid to do it. His reward is by framing the X-Men, he gets to take the bearer bonds without getting hunted down. The problem was that Devon's crew had never been inside of mutants before and will no doubt be at square one in terms of using their new powers so they needed practice. That's why they were in a junkyard, to get used to their new powers.

Of course, that was easier said then done. "Kitty" repeatedly tried to run through objects and would mostly just go splat on a wall. "Jean" couldn't lift a paperclip with her telekinesis. "Kurt" had trouble not teleporting whenever the thought popped into his head. "Evan" had an easy time popping out spikes but he wasn't exactly a good aim. "Logan" always screamed every time his claws popped out. "That hurts." he would always whined.

Chris found the whole thing quite amusing while Devon was horrified. They only had a few hours to practice because the train was coming tonight. "So much for the right crew." chuckled Chris. "They don't need to be perfect, they just need to get the job done. After it's finished, so are they." smirked Devon.

That caught Chris off guard and Devon noticed his reaction. "C'mon, they're losers and idiots. Once we've got the bonds, each of them will want their cut and would cash them into the bank the next day. Next thing you know, the FBI is breathing down our necks. Besides, it makes more sense to do a two way split." explained Devon.

"I see." said Chris, his expression neutral.

* * *

After a few hours without contact, Xavier sent the New Mutants out along with Storm to find the X-Men. The New Mutants had lost a few people in the last week including Alex, Jubilee, and Rahne. Now the team consisted of Bobby, Sam, Roberto, Sarah, Amara, and Tabitha. (Jamie is with Xavier and Beast back at the mansion.)

"The Professor lost their mutant signatures around this area. So keep on the look out." said Storm. Most of the new mutants were all excited about finally being on a mission. After literally being coped up inside the Mansion for past few weeks except for a series of tortures called school, they were finally out doing something.

The X-Men tracked this new mutant to an abandoned building. They found the X-Van outside so they were definitely still in the area. Storm split everyone into teams of two and searched through the building. Amara and Tabitha took the basement.

"So, has the human torch called you back?" asked Tabitha, referring to John. "No. And even if he did, what exactly would we say to each other?" replied Amara. "Hey, at least you two didn't end things like Lance and Pryde did." said Tabitha.

"Help." they heard in the next room. The two mutants busted down the door and to their surprise found seven people locked in a large animal cage. "Amara, Tabby. Thank goodness you're here." said one of the prisoners.

"Uhh…How do you know our names?" asked a confused Amara. "Listen, this is going to sound a little strange but we're the X-Men." said a girl. The two New Mutants stared at the prisoners absolutely speechless.

* * *

Devon's crew were finally starting to get somewhere with using their powers. They were far from being the X-Men but they could at least pull the job off. Meanwhile, Chris was taking care of a few other things to pass the time. He had a feeling about tonight and wanted to be prepared in case the worst happened.

On his way back to the junkyard, he bumped into the last person he expected. Benedict Kine. "Tell me it isn't true." said Kine and judging by his face, he wasn't happy. "What are you talking about?" demanded Chris.

"Devon is what!!! What do you think you're doing helping him out?" yelled Kine. "He needs help on a job, that's all." said Chris. "Ohhhhhhh, so he just randomly pops back into our lives so you can help him out? C'mon Chris, you haven't seen this guy in what…five years. Now he suddenly shows up again wanting to be your buddy? He's just using you like he always has." said Kine.

"Spyke is a girl. Spyke is a girl." Tabitha said mockingly. "Will you shut up?! This is beyond embarrassing." shot back Daniels. Everyone was back at the Mansion trying to sort all of this mess out.

"Obviously Mr. Alomar's power is to switch people's minds." said Beast. "Tell us something we don't know." grumbled Logan. "Alright, we catch up to that guy and make him undo this." said Rogue.

"Unfortunately, Devon has disappeared along with his accomplices from Cerebro. Either they're not using their powers or somehow they're blocking Cerebro's scans." said Xavier. "There is somebody we know who can do that. Terrance's got more powerful in the last few months and now his sheer presence can render Cerebro's scans useless in an area." said Jean.

"That does it! We're going to the Brotherhood House and getting some answers." said Spyke. "What are you doing to do? Threaten 'em with your boobs?" chuckled Bobby. "That's enough. We don't know that Chris is involved. But it wouldn't hurt to find out." said Xavier.

* * *

"She was the greatest you know." said a drunk Lance. "Yeah." agreed a fellow drunken John. "Why do people even fall in love? All you do is end up getting hurt. The people I loved always hurt me. My mother and Kitty. At least my mother wasn't completely to blame for what happened to her." continued Lance. "Amara and me made flames. We were meant to be together." moaned a wobbling John.

Pietro and Fred watched the whole thing from the kitchen. "This is beyond embarrassing. And I thought you infatuation with Jean was bad enough." said Pietro. "At least I didn't do this." replied Fred. Kine stormed into the house and went straight upstairs. Pietro and Fred didn't even bother going up after him, not with how he looked.

In his room, Kine paced back and forth. He could either do something or do nothing. He could not let Chris get taken down by Devon. He was a manipulator, he used people then tossed them aside when he was done. Ben saw it before with one of his lackeys. Devon let one of his guys hang out to dry for a robbery then got adopted by some agency that whisked him away before the cops could catch up to him.

The whole thing stank. Kine remembered the same agency reps who took Devon away also came to see Chris and him. Chris told him to keep his mouth shut and not tell them anything about their abilities. A few months later, he was put in a foster family. Chris and Kine stayed in touch, they become more then friends. They were family.

The agency came back wanting to take Chris away but he ran. Kine joined up with him later and the two used their abilities to stay alive on the streets for years until they met John near JFK. The two had lived in mostly shelters and abandoned buildings so when he told them about the Brotherhood home, they felt like they had nothing to lose.

He was not going to let this happen, he had to do something. Then an idea popped into his head, a good one. He had to get everyone together then he was going to something he never thought he would ever do, call up the X-Men.

(The flashbacks seemed to stump me at times so I just put in the whole back-story at the end to get past them. Next chapter, Kine's plan goes into action and it involves pitting the New Mutants against Devon's crew. While they duke it out, the Brotherhood decides to settle things with Devon when treachery rears it's ugly head.)

(IMPORTANT ALERT: I am now considering a major arc for Lance. It would be a great overall story but it would also put him out of the majority for Season three. I don't want to go into details but I want your opinions on this. Please let me know.)


	44. The Heist part 3

(And now for the conclusion to the Heist storyline. I mostly wanted to do this chapter just because it would be the New Mutants vs. the X-Men in a sense. It's something new and better then just doing another Brotherhood X-Men fight for the three hundredth time.)

Devon, Chris, and the rest of the crew now stood a few meters away from a set of train tracks. In just a few minutes, the train was going to pass by.

"Alright remember the plan. Go only for the bonds. They'll be in an armored briefcase in the center of the cargo car. Just grab it and leave everything else." said Devon.

"Even the money?" groaned "Scott". "Especially the money! Now get to your positions!" yelled Devon. The others quickly complied and headed towards the tracks. Devon felt around his pocket and noticed he was missing something.

"Oh no, don't tell me I left it." he said. Chris pulled out a 9mm Beretta. "Forget this." he said before handing it over. "Yeah, good thing you remembered it. Things might get a little messy." Devon said before putting the gun in his belt.

"Scott" waited by the train tracks until he could see the incoming train's bright light. He pressed the fire button on his visor and released a powerful optic blast. The train was derailed from the hit and crashed into the nearby woods. The crash was quick by loud, with the two cars flipped almost upside down.

"Move it. We've only got a few minutes before the emergency responders show up. And make sure the security cameras see you." ordered Devon. After all, the real purpose of this robbery was to frame the X-Men.

Everyone except Devon and Chris dashed to the train. "Logan" cut a hole in the side which "Jean" pulled out telekinetically. "Kitty" and "Rogue" climbed inside, making sure they were in full view of the cameras when they grabbed the bond briefcase. The two leaped out and "Logan" cut the security bolts with his claws. "Kurt" and "Evan" knocked out the drivers, making sure they were spotted first. "All finished, now let's get out of here." said "Spyke".

"How do you like that? They not only steal bodies but briefcases as well." said a voice behind them. The robbery crew turned around to see the New Mutants there along with Storm.

"Ah crap, it's the freak police." grunted "Logan". "This can either end two ways. Come along voluntarily or forcibly." warned Storm. "Since when is the easy way ever fun?" shot back "Spyke" who fired several bone spikes at the New Mutants.

Bobby put up an ice shield that blocked the spikes. "Scott" fired an optic beam that shattered it. The New Mutants all quickly scattered and began to fight the "X-Men" one on one. Bobby tried to get "Kitty" but she simply phased through everyone one of his attacks. "Can't touch me loser." mocked "Kitty" who punched Bobby again and again. "Yeah, but you still have to touch ground." said Bobby who shot an ice beam at the ground. "Kitty" slipped and slide across the ice which Bobby extended all the way to a tree. "Kitty" crashed into it, knocking her out.

Storm, flying in the air, dealt with "Logan", hitting him with one lightning bolt after another. But he easily healed from hit quickly. "C'mon babe, come down here. Your little witch act isn't going to work on me." smirked "Logan." "Unfortunately for you, there's a major blurry in the forecast for you." shot back Storm. She summoned a large tornado and mixed in a hailstorm with hit. "Logan" got sucked into it, getting pelted left and right by hard chunks of hail. Besides getting nailed by hail, Storm hit him with four continuous lightning bolts that caused "Logan's" body to smoke. Finally, she dispersed the storm and "Logan" dropped to the ground smoking and unconscious. "I hope Logan doesn't take that too personally when he gets his body back." said Storm.

Sarah Vale tried to take on "Kurt" but he would always teleport in, hit her, then teleport away. It was an annoying but effective strategy. "Peek a boo." he said, popping in behind her before hitting her. Then Sarah noticed something, he always tried to teleport behind her. Despite his power, this guy didn't know how to utilize it very well and that would be his downfall. Sarah stood perfectly still until she heard a bamf behind her. When she did, she spun around and connected a spinning heel kick into "Kurt's" face. He had been dashing forward so that only added to the impact. He dropped to ground, out cold. "Way too predictable." muttered Sarah.

Amara trapped "Rogue" in between the train and a wall of fire. Roberto managed to knock out "Spyke" really easily while Tabitha used her explosives to blind "Jean" and "Scott" so Ray could zap them unconscious. "Oh yeah, so much for us being the B team." cheered Tabitha. "Hey, the briefcase. It's gone." said Ray.

* * *

Both Chris and Devon were laughing as they continued running through the woods with briefcase. Devon managed to grab it while everyone else was fighting. He was in and out before anyone even noticed him. The two stopped near the edge of Look Out Point, a cliff edge were people often came for the view.

"Hold up a sec, I need a breather." said Devon. Chris glanced off into the distance, his mood changing. "So, when did you decide?" asked Chris. "What are you talking about?" asked Devon. "To stab me in the back and keep the bonds all to yourself!" yelled Chris, his anger showing.

Devon was silent for a moment then pulled out his pistol. "I decided on it before I even saw you earlier today. I've been planning on it the whole week. When did you know?" asked Devon. "The moment you said you were leaving your crew to rot and that we'd keep the money ourselves. If you were willingly to screw the people you've worked with for the past few years, what was stopping you from doing it to me?" said Chris.

"You forgot the most important lesson I taught you Chris, it's everyman for himself." said Devon before pointing the gun at Chris. He pulled the trigger…and nothing happened. Confused, Devon pulled it again and still nothing happened.

"You should always check whenever someone hands you a gun, it might not be loaded." said Chris. Then he sent a powerful psy static wave at Devon, nearly knocking the man off his feet in pain. Chris rushed up to him and grabbed him by the shirt, intensifying the static.

"Now it's my turn to teach you a lesson. That which doesn't kill you only tries harder next time so I never anyone a second chance to try!" yelled Chris. Devon screamed in pain as Chris shoved him over the guardrail and over the cliff edge. Devon fell to bottom and was motionless.

The Brotherhood came running out of the woods. "Chris are you alright?" asked Kine. "No." Chris said, walking away. The others glanced over the cliff and saw Devon's motionless body. "Ouch." said Toad.

* * *

Chris sat in his room pondering the past night's events. Kine anonymously tipped off the X-Men to the whole heist and they sent the New Mutants. The Brotherhood waited in the woods to grab Chris and get out of there should he needed to be. But since he never showed his face near the train wreck, they couldn't find him. In the end, it didn't really matter.

The X-Geeks were back to normal and altered the memories of the train guards so the robbery crew would take the blame and not them. The fact that those loser weren't banging on the Brotherhood's door meant that they haven't realized Chris's connection to the whole thing. Obviously Xavier wasn't using his abilities when he could.

But that was fine by Chris. Also, the crew wasn't talking to the police and were lawyering up. Some big shot attorneys were coming to their defense which was quite suspicious. No doubt they were hired by Devon's employers.

Speaking of which, Switch's body hasn't been found. Apparently, the man either survived the fall or his body was moved. Either way, Chris didn't believe that he was going to see him again. He now had his own problems like getting away from his employers.

As for Chris, he had to get back to his family. The Brotherhood. They even told him that they were ready to go on the run as fugitives if it meant getting him back. Now that's a real family.

* * *

At a secret meeting, various business leaders from across the world were congregating. "This whole plan has been a disaster." said one of them. "Do not worry. The only link back to us is Mr. Alomar and he's been dealt with." replied another.

"We were supposed to turn Xavier and his students into fugitives so they would be more complacent to accept our offer. Now without that desperation, you know they won't join us." said Selene, the Black Queen.

"Do not worry. The opportunity will present itself once more given time. Mutant-human affairs are deteriorating so we need only to wait. Even if Xavier won't fight the humans, eventually his students will lose patience with him and then we will be ready to craft them to our needs. The X-Men will join the Hellfire Club one way or another." said Sebastian Shaw, the Black King.

(And yet another evil rears it's head. Everyone had to know they would show up if I was using Emma Frost. Next time on the Brotherhood: Mojo abducts the X-Men for his deadly game shows and the Brotherhood get to enjoy every minute of it. Keeping bringing in suggestions. Believe me, I do listen and try to incorporate them into the story. The chapter of Sewer Brawl for All was written after et4279 suggested that the New Mutants have their own enemy to fight. Please review and have a nice day.)


	45. Abduction

(Wow, I haven't updated this in over a month. I'm sorry it took so long but personal problems reared their ugly heads once again in my life along with a bad case of writer's block. Thankfully, I'm past that and back to work on this fic. I'm giving story credit to trickquestion and pyromaniac91. I loved their suggestions and I'm giving credit where it is due.)

"DOMO!" yelled Mojo. He was sitting in his office and just went over last month's ratings. His servant robot Major Domo entered the room. "Yes your excellancy." it said. "LOOK AT THESE RATINGS! THEY'RE DOWN ALL ACROSS THE BOARD!" yelled Mojo.

"Viewership is never constant sire. There will always be ups and downs in this business." replied Domo. But of course, Mojo wasn't listening. "THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE! Got to think of something, something good. Something that'll knock their socks off. Something with action, drama, even that odd thing called romance." said Mojo really fast.

"I take it negotiations with Longshot have not been forthcoming." said Domo. Ever since Longshot, one of the biggest stars in Mojoverse, went on strike, things have gone downhill. "That stupid gnat is nothing. You hear me! My nose hairs are more valuable then him!" yelled Mojo.

"Then perhaps it is time to seek out new faces. Ones that could fight the Champion." said Domo. "NOBODY WILL FIGHT HIM ANYMORE! EVEN THAT WORTHLESS LONGSHOT NEVER DARED! Who could I possibly get?" asked an infuriated Mojo.

"Might I suggest beings from the planet Earth. A source has given me some footage that might interest you." suggested Domo. "Show me." demanded Mojo. Domo activated a holographic projector and played footage of the fight between the X-Men/Brotherhood team against the Acolytes.

Mojo's eyes instantly lite up. "Oh my, the action, the suspense, the drama, I WANT THEM! Yes, I shall put…Who are they again?" he said with a quick burst. "The three teams are the Brotherhood, X-Men, and Acolytes." said Domo. "YES! I the great Mojo shall make stars out of them and they shall make me lots of money. I'M A GENIUS!" yelled Mojo.

"Indeed you are sir." said Domo. Mojo always took credit for every idea but Domo knew it was best to go with the flow when it comes to his Master. "And what about Longshot's strike oh magnificent one?" continued Domo.

"Longshot? Longshot who?" chuckled Mojo. "Of course sire." replied Domo. Mojo activated his intercom. "SPIRAL! May I see you in my office…NOW!" he said.

* * *

Despite being in the possession of 150 million dollars worth of bonds, the Brotherhood wasn't going to spend a dime of it. It was decided to bury the briefcase in the backyard and only get it in emergencies. The authorities were out search for them so cashing in on some of them would raise a big red flag. Also, they would never mention it again unless absolutely necessary. Chris was still sensitive about the whole thing.

To say that everyone was on edge was an understatement. For the first time, everyone had to be careful what everybody said to each other. Lance was still touchy about anything that went with the cat. John watched a volcanic eruption on a news channel and cried. Usually he loved watching those but now he's always reminded of Amara when seeing it. Pietro and Wanda were sensitive anytime the word Magneto was mentioned. Toad felt depressed after getting roughed up by some jocks. The rest of the hood made sure they regretted it but now Toad felt like he was weak and useless. Fred is always sensitive about his weight so add all that up and you have one awkward household.

Kine was really the only one who had no real mental grievance with someone or something. He was flipping through the channels on the TV when he heard the sound of a plate shattering on the floor in the kitchen. Blob always did have greasy fingers. "Be sure to clean that up." Kine said towards the kitchen.

Then he heard a scream coming from the kitchen. Sighing, Kine got up and walked into…an empty kitchen? "Blob? Where'd you go?" Kine yelled out. Then he heard John screaming from his room then silence. Kine bolted towards the stairs, Lance screamed in his room. He bursted into John's room. Empty and so was Lance's room. Then he heard another scream from Wanda's room. Kine was in a complete brainfart, not sure what the heck was going on or what to do. It didn't really matter since a portal appeared underneath him and he fell through it screaming.

* * *

In the danger room control room, Wolverine watched the X-Men train below. Summers was leading them in an evacuation simulation and by his own recommendations, put it on a very high level. Meaning the X-Men were going through one of the toughest simulations they've done since Mystique was impersonating Xavier. If there was one thing that Mystique taught them, it's that they truly weren't ready for Magneto.

Charles rolled inside the control room, watching his students perform less then perfectly. "How are they doing?" he asked thought he already knew the answer. "I hate to say this Chuck but we may have been going too soft on them. They've barely been able to get by the first level of high risk simulations." said Logan.

"Logan, they are students not soldiers." said Xavier. "If tensions flare back up, they may not have a choice. Anything new on Lorna?" asked Logan. "No, Cerebro still hasn't detected her. We may have to face the possibility that Lorna may have joined Eric willingly." said Xavier.

They heard a scream and glanced down to see Rogue down on the ground, flat on her face. "End simulation." ordered Summers. The battleground disappeared, replaced by the normal Danger Room. Rogue groaned as she got back to her feet. "What happened?" demanded Summers.

"Kurt was supposed to watch mah back…Hey, where is he?" asked Rogue. Everyone then noticed the teleporter was missing. Suddenly, Jean screamed as she fell through a portal under her feet. "Jean!" yelled Scott who dashed after her, only to run through a portal that appeared in front of him. Spyke was pulled through one as well. Kitty started running, only to fall into another one. Rogue was the last to disappear.

Logan busted through the control room glass and landed into the Danger Room but everyone was gone. "What happened!" he yelled. Before Xavier could answer him, a portal opened underneath Logan and he fell through it.

* * *

At the Acolytes base, Domino smirked as she finished up collecting her winnings at poker. Despite Remy's card tricks, luck was on her side as she took all the money every player: Gambit, Sabertooth, Colossus, and Blink.

"That's the last time Remy plays with you." said Gambit. "What's wrong Cajun? Can't handle a woman who's better at cards then you?" chuckled Domino. "Remy can handle any woman." replied Gambit.

"Tell that to the southern belle you've been trying to woo." chuckled Blink. Creed rolled his eyes. Suddenly, he fell out of his chair. Gambit was about to laugh when he noticed Creed was gone. "Hey, where's the kitty cat?" he asked.

Suddenly, Blink screamed as she seemingly dropped through the floor. Next, Peter was the next to drop and disappear. Domino pulled out her pistols just as a portal opened behind her and she was pulled inside by a metallic hand. Remy bolted towards the door…and ran into an open portal.

A huge hole split open in the metallic wall as Magneto stepped inside. "There has been a situate…" he started to say before he noticed that the room was empty.

* * *

"Uhhhh." grumbled Kurt as he regained consciousness. One minute he was in a danger room session along with the rest of the X-Men, the next he was grabbed by something and pulled into seemingly darkness. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor inside of some glass tube connected from the ceiling to the floor.

He picked himself up and found the tube he was in was part of multiple columns, each one containing a member of the X-Men, Brotherhood, or Acolytes. Everyone else was unconscious, time to get them out. Kurt teleported…then felt massive pain. His body rematerialized as he was hurled off his feet.

"Don't bother Blue Legolas. I've already tried that." said a voice down the hall. Kurt turned to see Magneto's teleporter on her feet and in a bad mood. "It may look like glass but it makes a real good holding cell." she said, indicating the tubes.

"Where are we?" asked Kurt. "How should I know? One minute I was playing cards with the rest of my team, the next thing I know I'm here." replied Blink.

Logan groaned as he got to his feet, regaining his senses. "What happened?" he grunted. "How about we wait until everybody wakes up before we figure that out? Unless you'd prefer answering the same question every time someone wakes up." replied Blink.

"And don't…" Kurt tried to warn Logan before he tried to slash his way free. All Wolverine succeeded in was shocking himself by some kind of shield surrounding the glass. The cycle repeated itself. Kitty woke up and tried to phase through only to get repealed away unpleasantly. Colossus woke up and tried to break out, same result. Cyclops was going to blast his way out but the others screamed "DON'T!" Pretty soon everybody was awake and has at least tried to escape once with painful results.

"Let me outta here! Whatever happened, I didn't do it. I want a lawyer!" yelled Pietro. "Shut up Pietro." grumbled Wanda. A door at the end of the hallway opened and in stepped the fattest thing the mutants had ever seen.

It was like a large green mass with mechanical spider legs with two arms and a hideous looking face with two eyes and a mouth with the ugliest yellow teeth you've ever seen. "Oh…my…What is that?" said Kitty. "Wow and I thought Blob was obese." said Evan. "You're dead spike boy." shot back Fred.

"Welcome…I still don't remember your names but that's okay. I'm going to make you all households names. Yes yes yes yes yes!" it said quickly. "What are you? Jabba the Hutt's really ugly cousin?" asked Toad. "My name is Mojo and I am your new agent." it proudly exclaimed.

"Our agent?! You kidnapped us!" yelled Scott. "Details details." said Mojo, waving him off. "Let us out of here you big fat piece of slime or I'll paint this room with your blood!" yelled Sabertooth. "OHHHH! Colorful language, aggressive attitude, lone wolf personality. I smell box office blockbusters in your future." said Mojo.

"This fellow is three fries short of a happy meal." said Gambit. "Happy meal? Where?" asked Fred, looking around while Gambit sighed. "This is not happening." grumbled Rogue. "Chere, suddenly this isn't such a bad day." smirked Gambit, noticing Rogue for the first time. "HOW CAN YA'LL FLIRTING WITH ME AT A TIME LIKE THIS!" yelled Rogue.

"Trust me Cajun, you don't want to date an X-Geek. I learned the hard way." said Lance. "More like I learned the hard way after you blew up the mansion!" shot back Kitty. "For the thirty-thousandth time, that was Mystique!" yelled Lance.

"Ah, romance issues. Definitely will appeal to my female demographics." said Mojo. "Look, whoever you are you can't just abduct us and expect us to cooperate with you." said Storm. "Yeah, what she said." said Kine. "Sorry, your contracts have already been written and signed by me. You're cooperation DOESN'T MATTER! You will do what I tell you and you will make me lots of money!" laughed Mojo.

"Alright, first up we need a representative out of all of you to the model for all future merchandise and memorabilia. Got to have someone with looks and sex appeal to exclude from the games." said Mojo. "Guess that rules you out Daniels." chuckled Pietro. "You as well Maximoff." shot back Evan. "Oh please, who else could possibly…" Pietro started to say.

"WHY ARE YOU TWO ARGUING ABOUT SEX APPEAL AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!" yelled Jean. "Just because you don't have any doesn't mean we have to be as miserable at you." replied Domino. "When I get a hold of you I'll…" Jean started to say before being interrupted. "Folks, can we all kill each other later? We have bigger issues at the moment." said Wanda.

"YES! I found the perfect candidate. Can't risk losing you in the games so you're being excluded." said Mojo, talking mostly to himself. "YOU!" you said, pointing to…Toad?!

"TOAD?!" everyone yelled at once. "Me?" asked a stunned Todd. "Yes my friend, you're going to top sexiest bachelor of the year easily. The women will be showering you with their admiration and praise." said Mojo.

"This is not happening." gasped Kurt. "This isn't real, this all some really strange nightmare. Yes that has to be it." said Wanda, trying to convince herself.

"DOMO!" yelled Mojo. A floating robot entered the room. "Yes your magnificence." it said. "Get…What's his name?" asked Mojo. "Todd Tolensky sir." replied Domo. "Right, I knew that. Get Tolensky the best makeover money can buy." said Mojo. The fat alien then turned and noticed John, Kine, and Chris.

"Also, get these three some actual combat uniforms." continued Mojo. "Yes sire." Domo said before Toad suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. The two turned and headed down the hallway out of the room.

"What about me? What does Toad have that I don't?" yelled Pietro at them before they left. "Can it Maximoff." said Blink. "That guy is a lunatic. To think that I'm not the sexiest most amazing…" said Pietro.

"SHUT UP!" everyone but Pietro yelled. "Wait a minute, what did he mean by games?" said Chris. "Somehow, I doubt he meant American Gladiators." said John. "Yeah, I'm not very eager to find out what they are." said Kine.

"C'mon Logan, what's wrong? Looks like you're unbreakable claws are overrated." chuckled Sabertooth as Logan tried again to slash his way free. "The first chance I get, I'll use 'em on you next." shot back Logan.

"I can't believe I am stuck here with you!" yelled Lance. "Wasn't like this was my choice!" replied Kitty as the two yelled at each other continuously back and forth. "I'm getting a headache." moaned Peter, covering his ears from the constant yelling in the room.

"We have to work together on this." said Scott. "And take orders from you? I don't think so!" yelled Blob. "At least some of us know what we're doing!" replied Scott.

"Tramp!" yelled Domino. "Slut!" yelled Jean. "Whore!" Domino yelled back. "Bimbo!" yelled Jean.

"Seriously, how can he chose Toad over me?!" yelled Pietro. "Because you're a loser Pietro." said Daniels. "I didn't ask why he didn't choose you, I asked why he didn't choose me." shot back Pietro.

"Did I tell you about you eyes?" Gambit asked Rogue, continuing to flirt with her. "AHHHHH!" screamed Rogue.

"You know what? Suddenly my whole fear of being in these so called games is gone. It can't be any worse then being in this room." said Kine as everybody continued to argue and yell at each other.

(I think there's some interpersonal issues between a few people don't you agree? And Toad is the equivalent of Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp in Mojo's dimension? Somebody's going to enjoy being here more then others. Please review and send your suggestions people. Honestly, they really do help.)


	46. Mojoverse

(Another long delay. The fight scene was so difficult and I'm probably not going to ever use so many mutants in the same battle at once again. It's just way too hard to include them all. Hope you enjoy and please review.)

"Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to another edition of MOJOVERSE!" yelled the announcer inside of an enormous coliseum. Thousands of bizarre looking beings all screamed in delight. "And here is your host. The great, the wonderful MOJO!!!!" continued the announcer. The audience once again cheered for joy.

On cue Mojo entered the coliseum but instead on being on his mechanical spider legs, his body was on a hovercraft. He still retained his scorpion-like tail. "Thank you. Thank you all. No seriously, keep clapping. It strengthens my ego. Tonight, you will experience the greatest episode of Mojoverse ever! Live and only on extremely high pay per view. Ladies, gentleman, unisex, and transgender species, I give you the new faces of Mojoverse. THE X-MEN, THE BROTHERHOOD, AND THE ACOLYTES!" announced Mojo.

In the center of the coliseum, a large elevator opened with the prison tubes coming up on a large elevator. The mutants all glanced around speechless. Seeing thousands of aliens all clapping and cheering is quite an unusual sight. Suddenly an energy shield surrounded the elevator and the tubes rescinded into the ground, freeing the mutants at least inside the shield. Kitty tried to phase through it while Blink and Kurt tried to teleport through it. All three of them had the same result, getting repelled off their feet.

"Blimey! What happened to my clothes." said John. He was now wearing a biker's jacket with dozens of flame designs. He had black shades on and red jeans which made him look an odd version of Ghost Rider.

"They changed our clothes without us knowing? That is disturbing." said Kine who was now wearing tactical gear similar to a member of SWAT with a bullet proof vest and combat BDU.

As for Chris, he was dressed like Neo from the Matrix with the black shades, trench coat and everything. "At least we look cooler." he said, shrugging.

"Looks like our contestants want to get started. Very well, their wish is my command." said Mojo over a loudspeaker. The shield expanded from the elevator all the way to the audience seating, forming a protective barrier to prevent anything from getting to the crowd. Rock and mountainous formations began to grow inside the arena to form a type of battleground. Two spotlights shinned on the top of the tallest rocky ledge.

"Up first, our heroes must battle a consistent and powerful duo. They've lasted five years here and are still going strong. The first is from an alternate timeline with four arms, a long tongue, and mass alteration abilities. He is the one the only, SUGAR MAN!" announced Mojo. A mutant was teleported into one of the spotlights and he was ugly. He looked like a giant head with four arms and two legs attached to it. Sugar Man had large sharp teeth along with a sword on each hand.

"And his partner, from the depths of the Savage Land. He is a powerful flyer with energy abilities unlike any other. He is the dreaded SAURON!" continued Mojo. Now a pteranodon-like humanoid appeared in the spotlight next to Sugar Man. He let loose an animal-like screech.

"When I get my hands on that Mojo, I'll drain all the life-force he has down to his very atoms." growled Sauron. "Forget him, we've got some new toys to play with." said Sugar Man, pointing to the new arrivals. "Hopefully they'll be more entertaining then the last ones." said Sauron. He shot up into the air while Sugar Man jumped to ground while growing in size. When he landed, he was at least thirty feet tall.

"Alright, here's the plan. Storm, you and me will take care of that flying lizard. The rest of you attack that…fat thing." said Summers. "And why exactly should we listen to you?" demanded Blob. "I don't take orders from…uh oh." said Pietro, glancing up. Everyone looked up to see Sugar Man's fist coming down. They all scattered just in time to avoid getting crushed.

Wanda sent hex bolts that send Sauron and even the large Sugar Man flying. A second later, she was teleported away. "What the...SIS!" yelled Pietro who quickly zoomed around the area, looking for her. "I'll handle this." said Kine. He sent a neural command that caused Sugar Man to punch himself in the face. "Hey no fair!" the giant yelled. Suddenly, Kine was teleported away. "Sorry folks but Kine has been disqualified for this bout." said Mojo over the loudspeaker. "Hey! Bring him back!" yelled Chris.

Storm floated into the air and came face to face with Sauron. "I don't know who you are but I am not your enemy." said Storm. "You don't get it. Despite my personal feelings towards that fat piece of slim, he does give me a lot of powerful opponents. Power I can drain." replied dashed towards her but Storm was ready as she summoned a tornado around her. Sauron was swept up inside and hurled away.

Meanwhile Sugar Man shot out his bioelectric tongue which hit both Colossus and Blob, causing them intense pain. Kitty tried to phase through it but found the tongue could still hit her even when phased. Jean was also hit, trying to fly over it. All of Sugar Man's victims were pumped with bioelectric energy from a single touch of his tongue and no matter what you were made of and what protection you had, it hurt.

Sugar Man charged forward when Wolverine leaped down from a ledged right on top of the big guy's head. He dug his claws in deep, Sugar Man screamed in pain. He violently thrashed his head around with Logan trying to hold on for dear life. Jean levitated two large rocks and sent them flying right into Sugar Man's eyes, blinding him.

Now everyone was starting to work together. Colossus and Blob ran straight under the big guy just as one of his legs came down. They both stood under it and stopped it as it came down. They used their combined strength to begin lifting the leg higher. Lance created a seismic tremor underneath Sugar Man's other foot. Loosing his balance, he fell to the ground on his face.

Sabertooth sprung into action, jumping on the large mutants and using his claws to do as much damage as possible. Gambit ran up to Sugar Man's head and kinetically charged the ground underneath it. He bolted just as the ground blew up in Sugar Man's face. The large mutants screamed in pain as he got to his feet. A storm cloud formed over his head as Ororo began blasting him with lightning bolts. But she didn't notice Sauron fly up right behind her and grabbed her. He started draining her life force as she screamed. In her struggle, the storm clouds went wild and started hitting everything including her own teammates.

Domino grabbed two rocks and chucked them into the air, both of them hitting Sauron square in the head. He let go of Storm who fell to the ground, unconscious. Sauron let loose an angry screech and flew towards Domino who fell to the ground. Sauron passed over her, missing her. Rogue jumped off a ledge and land on the pterodactyl-like mutant's back. "Not that Ah want to look all scaly but Ah'm dropping ya'll." said Rogue, pulling one of her gloves off and touching Sauron. But instead of him screaming, she was the one yelling in pain as Sauron began draining her. "Your powers aren't nearly as efficient as mine." smirked the dactyl mutant before tossing her aside.

Sugar Man got back to his feet and wiped his tongue out. It hit Chris, Colossus, Sabertooth, and Domino who was knocked back into Sauron's hands who began draining her. A charged rock hit Sauron's back and exploded. "Hands off lizard lips." said Remy, charging another rock. Sauron recovered and dashed towards Remy only to get hit by Scott's optic blasts.

The crowd cheered in delight. "Look at these ratings! If they keep this up, the advertisers will be on their knees. They'll be begging me to overcharge them!" laughed Mojo as he watched from a distance.

"I've had it!" yelled Chris who sent out psy static in all directions. Everyone in the arena including the audience held their heads in pain. The next minute he disappeared, teleported away. "Sorry about that folks. Chris has just been disqualified. No legal action is necessary, I'll just bride all the civil courts anyways. Besides the main event is about to begin." announced Mojo.

Sauron and Sugar Man were teleported away. "And now ladies and gentleman, time for the man you've been waiting for." continued Mojo. Suddenly the crowd went nuts, cheering like crazy. They all shouted, "Champ! Champ! Champ!"

* * *

Longshot watched the whole thing from his room inside the stadium. That fat green slime ball had gone too far. He didn't mind putting himself in danger but abducting people against their will and forcing them into this was just wrong. Maybe there was a way to turn this all into a positive. One that would benefit everybody, especially Longshot.

He pulled out his communicator and dialed up Spiral who was a fan of his. "Hey Spiral, where are they keeping Toad and the mutants who are disqualified?...Really? Thanks, I appreciate it." he said.

* * *

"Who's the champ?" asked Spyke. "If it's just one guy, we can take him." said Pietro. Suddenly, a green energy field passed over everyone. Before they all knew it, Kurt and Blob suddenly turned to normal kids. Sabertooth's hair grew shorter and Remy's eyes changed as well. "What's happening?" asked Lance. "Our powers…they're gone." realized Logan.

"And now from Dimension 616, he is the best of the best and the most dominant name in Mojoverse history." announced Mojo. A spotlight shinned on the center of the arena as the elevator opened up, a platform raising up with someone on it. "Wait a minute…that's…OH NO!" yelled Logan. "You've got to be kidding me!" yelled Sabertooth, realizing who it was as well.

"Please welcome the one…the only…DEADPOOL!" announced Mojo. All the crowd erupted in pleasure. Deadpool stepped into the spotlight and posed.

"That's right your readers of Fanfic, it is I! The greatest thing ever to happen to fictitious pictured magazines. I shall excite you and I shall delight you. And as for you Theevilhillbilly, I never complained in previous chapters. I was simply stating that I was being underutilized." said Deadpool.

"Who the heck is he talking to?" asked Jean. "He's a maniac. Probably to some imaginary friend of his." answered Creed. That's when Wade Wilson (Deadpool) noticed Victor and Logan. "Hey guys! How's it been? Logan you should have seen Victor after you escaped Weapon X. He kept crying himself to sleep every night saying Wolverine! Wolverine! Where art thy Wolverine?!" chuckled Wilson, imitating Romeo and Juliet in the last phrase.

"I'm gonna kill him." growled Creed. "And now, let the battle begin." announced Mojo. "Sorry about this guys, nothing personal. It's just plain fun." said Deadpool, who pulled out his two guns. "Time for mindless violence. YAY BABY!" yelled Wilson as he opened fire.

(The fight scene involving Sauron and Sugar Man was so hard simply because I was trying to involve everybody from all three teams in it. I know I forgot Spyke and Pietro but I just couldn't figure out to insert them into it. I was already creatively spent just writing everybody else. Next chapter, Deadpool takes on the powerless mutants. Or is he going attack Mojo? Or both? Or is just going to go insane? Wait a minute, he already is!)

DEADPOOL: Hey now! I resemble that remark.

HARDBOILED: You'll get no argument from me.


	47. He fights like crazy

(Finally, finals are over and I can finally update.)

DEADPOOL: So that's your excuse? trickquestion practically updates every few days. You update once a month if we're lucky!

HARDBOILED: I was really busy.

DEADPOOL: Sure, blame the homework and employment hours. That's hard work discrimination.

HARDBOILED: (groaning) Let's just start the chapter.

* * *

"SOMEBODY IS GOING TO DIE WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!" yelled Wanda. She was stuck in another prison tube along with Chris and Kine, each separated in a long row of empty tubes.

"We know you're angry. Can you stop yelling now?" grumbled Chris. "SHUT UP!" yelled Wanda. "Or what? You going to keep yelling at me?" chuckled Chris, knowing the tubes blocked them from using their powers.

"Will both of you pipe down? I'm trying to concentrate here." grunted Kine who was examining every corner of his cell, trying to find a way out. "These are jail cells Ben, they're not supposed to have some secret way out." said Chris.

Suddenly, all the tubes lifted up into the ceiling. "What did you do?" Chris asked Kine. "Nothing." replied Kine. "Relax fellas, it was just me." said a man with long blond hair, stepping inside the room. Instantly, Wanda's hand glowed with purple energy.

"Who are you?" she demanded. The man threw up his hands. "Chill out beautiful, I'm here to set you free. The name's Longshot." said the man. That little monologue seemed to calm her down. "Why are you helping us?" demanded Wanda.

"Because once you're all gone, Mojo will have no choice but to turn to your's truly to get his ratings back and I can charge him whatever I want." smirked Longshot.

"Cool, now let's get out of here." said Kine.

"Hold up, there's only one way you're gonna be able to get back to your reality and I'm afraid only Mojo can do it." said Longshot. "That ugly excuse for Jabba the Hutt didn't exactly seemed to indicate he was letting us go anytime soon." said Chris.

"Oh, I know how you can change that." smirked Longshot.

* * *

"Explosions on the left!" yelled Deadpool tossing a grenade. After it exploded, he said "Explosion on the right." He then tossed a grenade in the opposite direction. "No let's just go crazy!" yelled Wade who started tossing grenades all over the place.

Nearby, all three teams were hiding behind a massive boulder from the explosions. "You used to work with this nut job?" Evan yelled at Logan over the booms. "Wasn't exactly by choice." grumbled Logan.

"What exactly is going on?" demanded John. "Yeah." agreed Blink, holding her head. "Where have you two been?" demanded Scott. "That fat tongue man knocked up both out almost instantly." said John. Suddenly, Deadpool teleported on the rock above them.

"Actually Hardboiled completely forget about both of you and now he's just writing that in to cover up his mistake." said Deadpool. He teleported down in front of them. "Hey, how come he still has his powers? This isn't fair!" yelled Kitty. "Typical you haven't figured out that life isn't fair." replied Lance.

"Excellent point mullet man. Now back to mindless violence." declared Deadpool before pulling out his two pistols. Everyone quickly scatters except Rogue who got shoved to the ground by Sabertooth. Wade quickly sets sights on her and fires away. His bullets never touch her as he makes an outline of her silhouette on the boulder behind her. As you can imagine, Rogue is somewhat stunned at the moment.

Deadpool gives her a tap on the shoulder. "What are you worried about? When it comes to the ladies, they call me the Lovepool." he said seductively before winking at her. He didn't get a second to react before Rogue punched him in the face and Domino did a flying kick right into his chest.

"Ow, there goes one of my ribs. What did it ever do to you? It was so innocent! That does it, time for you to meet Starbuck and Six." said Deadpool, pulling out his two swords.

* * *

"How much further?" demanded Wanda. The group continued running down the hallway into a sort of recreation room. Several odd-looking creatures inside had their eyes fixed on a television screen showing Deadpool attacking the X-Men while seemingly doing the Macarena dance at the same time.

"Oh boy, Mojo's got them going up against the champ." said Longshot. "One guy? I think they can handle…" Kine started to say before watching Deadpool knocked out Scott and Lance at the same time then proceeded to knockout Evan and Pietro. "Never mind." muttered Kine.

"Knowing Mojo, he's probably ordered Deadpool not to actually kill any of them. Which is like asking a fox to guard the henhouse and not eat anything." said Longshot.

"This guy is a maniac." said Chris, watching as Deadpool pulled out a grenade launcher from who knows where and literally turned the battle arena into a minefield.

"That's putting it mildly. One time Mojo got him an appointment with a psychiatrist, an hour later the doc checked himself into a mental institution. C'mon, we've got to find everybody else." said Longshot.

* * *

"Hmm, Deadpool is cutting a little close. He's almost killed about thirty times. Ah well who cares? The ratings are through the roof." Mojo said to himself.

Suddenly, a hex bolt hit his hovercraft which fell into the audience stands. "Ouch! Somebody call my doctor! Somebody call my lawyer!" yelled Mojo. He glanced up to notice an angry group composed of Wanda, Chris, Kine, Toad, Sauron, and Sugar Man.

"Hello boss, we'd like to discuss our contracts." growled Sugar Man. "Uh oh. SECURITY! SECURITY!" yelled Mojo.

Several flying drones appeared at fired at Mojo's attackers. Wanda disposed of them easily with a set of hex bolts. Meanwhile, Longshot got into the control room and deactivated the force field surrounding the battlefield.

Deadpool glanced around confused. "Huh? Oh well." he said before getting back to randomly firing grenades everywhere. Instantly all the mutants got their powers back and as you can imagine, they weren't happy.

Instantly, every mutants unleashed their powers at Deadpool whether it was optic blasts, telekinesis, seismic tremors, fireballs, spikes, lightning bolts, using their super strength to throw boulders, etc. The merc with a mouth teleported to safety next to Mojo who was still screaming for security.

"When the going gets tough, the tough renegotiate their contract. Hey boss, we need to talk." said Deadpool. "Wade, get them away from me!" yelled Mojo.

"Hey guys. How've ya been?" Deadpool asked Sauron and Sugar Man like they were buddies. From the look on their faces, they were anything but. "I still have the scars you put on my butt." growled Sugar Man.

"I told you before, you need to go on a diet. That enormous rear end of yours only makes a perfect target for Starbuck and Six. Besides, it's not like I actually put them inside…" Deadpool started to say.

"AAAHHH! That's disgusting." said Wanda. "What's going on here anyways? Wait a minute, you're killing the boss? AWESOME! Let me join in." said Deadpool, pulling out his two machine pistols.

"Say hello to the Jessica twins. The one on the left is Alba and the one on the left is Beil." chuckled Wade Wilkins, aiming at Mojo's head. Suddenly, a hex bolt send Deadpool flying into a wall.

"Wow, violent and crazy. I think I'm in love." said Deadpool, lying on the ground. Meanwhile, the rest of the mutants were now gathering around Mojo. "We're only going to say this once. Take us back where we came from." warned Wolverine, his claws extending.

"Alright alright. You've got a deal. SPIRAL! SPIRAL! Get them out of here!" yelled Mojo. On command, multiple portals opened up around all the mutants and they were pulled inside. And it wasn't just the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Acolytes. It was also Sauron, Sugar Man, and Deadpool.

* * *

A massive portal opened up in the ceiling of the Brotherhood living room. One by one, all the Hood members came crashing down. And you guessed it, Blob was last. Thankfully, he only crushed a couch and not anybody else.

"Ow." groaned Pietro who landed on the TV. "Why can't we ever have a normal day?" groaned Lance who landed on a small table in the middle of the room. "Man, that was a nice place. The ladies were all drooling over me. Gave me massages, anything I wanted. We should go back there sometime." said Toad who landed on his feet unlike anyone else.

"SHUT UP TOAD!" everyone except Toad yelled at once.

* * *

A portal appeared in the Acolyte's rec room and everyone came crashing down on each other. "Got off me!" yelled Sabertooth who was at the bottom of the pile up. Everyone quickly got to their feet and noticed they had somebody else in the pile up. Deadpool.

In his control room, Magneto heard an explosion that rocked the entire base. He quickly floated out of the room to find the Acolyes chasing around Deadpool who was mocking them. "Miss me miss me now you've got to kiss me. Except you Creed, I wouldn't want to mess up your virginity." chuckled the merc with the mouth. "YOU'RE DEAD WILKINS!" yelled Creed.

"What is going on?" demanded Magneto who stopped Gambit. "Well boss, we got abducted by some fat green alien who made us fight a half man half dinosaur and a fat head with four arms and two legs…" explained Gambit.

"Gambit, are you on drugs?" asked Magneto.

* * *

In the danger room, all the X-Men spilled down on top of each other. "Please tell me we get excused from Danger Room exercises for the rest of the day." moaned Spyke.

* * *

A few days later, the Brotherhood were all sitting in the living room. It was at night with a thunderstorm outside and the power was out. So they passed the time planning their next major economic venture.

"Male strippers. Trust me, I'll be more in demand then the Chippendales." suggested Pietro. He was immediately pelted with pillows and groans.

"Be serious mate. We need something to actually do. As much as I enjoy sitting around the house all day, we have to do something." said John.

"Yes, like finding my good for nothing father then beat him half to death followed by disemboweling him along with ripping out his liver, kidneys, lungs, stomach, and finally his big black heart." growled Wanda, her eyes glowing and everything started floating in the room.

"Uhh, sweetums. You don't have to describe that in such detail." gulped Toad. Everybody all cringed, hoping that Wanda didn't go into a tantrum. But to their relief, she calmed down.

"You're right slimebreath. But I can dream can't I?" replied Wanda. Toad leaned next to Blob and whispered, "She's actually talked to me, I think she's actually starting to like me." he said. Blob sighed and shook his head.

"Marijuana. We could get the pot trade going here in Bayville. The old folks will be lining up down the block." suggested John.

"Along with the DEA not to mention that'll get the X-Geeks attention. Do we really want to get involved with them again?" asked Chris. "NO!" everybody said at once.

Then the front door was kicked open and in stepped the last person the Brotherhood expected to see. "Hello boys, I'm back." said Mystique.

(The witch is back and boy is she ready for some payback with a certain Scott Summers and the Brotherhood is going to help her. For your general information, this isn't one of my better chapters. The truth was that I just wanted to get this storyline wrapped up as quickly as possible to move onto the next one. As always, please review.)


	48. Blind Alley

(I'm back! I'm actually back! Sorry for the very long delay. I was taking a hiatus from working on X-Men so I could concentrate on other things but I'm back and I think you're going to love this chapter.)

Toad screamed and hide behind Blob. "Boss lady, you're back." gulped Pietro. "Yes. Thanks for all the support you showed me by leaving ME TO ROT INSIDE AREA 51!" yelled Mystique. "Hey, we didn't exactly have the means to rescue you." shot back John.

"That doesn't matter anymore. All that matters now is getting back at that backstabbing coward." said Mystique.

"Great, we go after Magneto." said Wanda. "No, Scott Summers." replied Mystique.

"I'm down with that." said Lance. "Me too." said Fred. "Why not Daniels? He certainly more deserving of pain and suffer…" said Pietro before Wanda slapped him in the back of the head. "Oww." he grunted.

"I don't care about your personal problems with that dork. I only agreed to help you so we can kill Magneto." said Wanda. "You owe me Wanda. Don't forget who got you out of that asylum." shot back Mystique. Wanda grumbled to herself but stayed silent.

"So…what exactly do you have in mind?" asked Chris. Mystique replied with an evil smile.

* * *

"Would someone please tell me why we're here?" groaned Kine as he and the rest of the Brotherhood were seated in a restaurant in Los Cabos International Airport. Fred was scarfing down a pile of food stacked on a tray in front of him while the others just watched. They weren't exactly in a good mood since they were in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and couldn't visit any of the beaches or resorts. They couldn't go surfing, hiking, seeing pods of whales that were currently near the beaches, go to a nightclub, a cruise liner, or anything fun related. They were stuck waiting for Mystique.

"I love Mexican food." smiled Fred as he continued to set a world record in speed eating. "I can't believe we are in one of Mexico's biggest tourist destinations and we're stuck in the airport." grumbled Kine. "Yeah, we should be out partying or something." agreed Chris. "This whole thing is beneath my attention. Who cares about Summers and Mystique's problems. I should be gracing this city with my presence." grumbled Pietro.

"Hey John, I know why Pietro is so down. He left his one true love back in Bayville." said Toad. "And what's that?" asked John. "His mirror." replied Toad. The two mutants busted up laughing while Pietro glared at them. "Oh very funny coming from you Swampie. Courtney Love wouldn't even want to make out with you." sneered Pietro. "I don't care about her, my heart belongs only to my sweetums." smiled Toad, glancing at Wanda. The single female member of the group tried not to vomit.

Lance's sat phone suddenly ringed. It was given to him by Mystique should she need any assistance. You'd think she would want their help after going through the whole trouble of flying them down in a private jet and all. But no, she stuck them in the airport and told them to wait. That was hours ago. "Yeah." answered Lance. "Get those losers out of the airport and into the city now! Summers is wandering around blind and I want him found!" Mystique voice yelled through the speaker phone. Lance quickly hung up the phone.

"And I was just getting used to the dirty looks." grunted John, glaring at several people who looked away the moment he did. Everyone stood up except Blob who quickly gathered up whatever food he could.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." grumbled Lance as he and Pietro continued their sweep of a poor district in the city. It was mostly just Lance standing around as Quicksilver zoomed around the area and let the earth shaker know it's clear or not. The others had split up to cover more ground.

"Nothing." reported Pietro as he suddenly appeared back from his five second sweep of the neighborhood. "Why don't you just search the rest of the city?" asked Lance. "One can never be too careful my friend. Should anything happen to me, it's better to have back up should anything unexpected occur." replied Pietro.

Lance seemed to be fuming and Pietro just couldn't resist his curiosity. "What's a matter with you? Angry that you're not dishing punishment to preppy boy?" chuckled Quicksilver. "I'm mad because once again, we're Mystique's lackeys. Whether it's her, Magneto, or Xavier, everybody tries to tell us what to do. And quite frankly, I'm sick of it." grumbled Lance. "What are you saying?" asked Pietro.

"I'm saying that our boss isn't looking out for our best interests. That's all." responded Lance. "I found him. All of you to the east district." shouted Mystique's voice over their radio.

* * *

Toad was the first to arrive at the building Mystique specified. There was a large hole in the wall that the mutants simply leapt through. He glanced around then noticed another hole only this one was in the floor. "Summers sure has been busy." Toad muttered to himself. He leaped down the hole into almost complete darkness. Todd could barely see his own hand in front of his face. Then he heard banter, yelling back and forth between Summers and Mystique. Well he had a job to do and he was doing to do it.

He leaped towards the conversation and into some actually light. Then noticed Summers on the ground and Jean Grey walking towards him. How did she get here? Ah well, might as well take her down first. Toad leaped forward and dropkicked Jean in the face. She dropped to the ground while Tolensky landed on his feet. "And the crowd goes wild." chuckled Toad.

"You stupid amphibian." growled Jean who face began to distort and change…into Mystique. "Uh oh. Look boss, I didn't know it was you." stuttered Toad. Suddenly, Mystique was hit with an optic blast. Toad quickly jumped away before he got hit as well. Seizing the opportunity, Summers ran towards some stairs opening his eyes quickly and shutting them. This released a small rapid fire blast from his eyes that kept minimal damage and still allowed him to see well enough to get away.

"I had him!" yelled Mystique before turning her attention to Tolensky. "You…" she kicked Toad to the ground "…stupid…" she kicked him again with the little mutant crying in pain "…useless…" another harsh and brutal kick. Toad was in tears. "I'm sorry." he cried out. "You don't know the meaning of the word. But you're about to." hissed Mystique. She grabbed a metal pipe that was lying on the ground. She was about to hit Toad with it when suddenly, she was hurled through the air and into the wall.

She got to her feet and looked up to see Blob standing defiantly where she was a second ago. "You dare hit me!" yelled Mystique. "Nobody hurts my little buddy." growled Fred, slamming a fist into an open palm. Before she could respond, a tremor knocked her off her feet and sent her flying into a stone column. Then she noticed an angry Lance step out of the shadows. A flame lite up inside the room, revealing Pyro and the rest of the Brotherhood. And they were not happy.

"We should have done this a long time ago." said Pietro before zipping away. He dashed around Mystique, hitting nearly a hundred times in just a few seconds. He zipped away and John hurled flames at the former leader. "Burn the witch." said Pyro. "Wait…wait…" stuttered Mystique, realizing that she was in very big trouble. She turned to Wanda. "Wanda, help me. You owe me." Mystique said. Wanda looked at a pile of nearby bricks. With a wave of her hand, they floated into the air. And shot right at Mystique.

The shapeshifter screamed as she ran to avoid getting hit. She turned into a bird to fly away but suddenly, her head felt like it was going to explode. She dropped to the ground and saw Chris concentrating. Lance and Kine helped Toad back to his feet. "This toad is going witch hunting." growled Toad.

* * *

Scott ran desperately down the alley when he tripped over a garbage can. He was about to get back to his feet when he heard someone coming towards him. Summers was about to open his eyes until he heard a voice. "Scott." came Jean's voice. Scott breathed a sigh of relief. "Jean. Am I glad to see you." he said. "Here." he heard Jean say before feeling glasses slipping onto his face. He opened his eyes to the familiar and beautiful telekinetic.

"Are you alright?" she asked, helping him to his feet. "Yeah I'm fine. But Mystique is back there along with Toad and I'm guessing the Loserhood as well." replied Scott. Wolverine and Xavier entered the alley and caught the last part of his conversation. "I'll handle that." said Logan, popping out his claws. "Wait Logan…I don't think that will be necessary." said Xavier. "Why not?" asked Wolverine. And he got his answer in the form of a screaming Mystique running out into the alley with the Brotherhood chasing after her.

"I'll show you useless." shouted Toad who shot his tongue out and hit her in the back. He continued whipping her in the back as Mystique ran out of the alley and into the streets, the Hood still chasing her down. "Uhh…should we something Professor?" asked Jean. "No, I think we should let this play out." said Xavier with a smile. "I knew that was going to happen sooner or later." chuckled Logan, enjoying Mystique's shrieks as they echoed across the neighborhood.

* * *

After giving Mystique a severe beating, she managed to slip away. But the Hood made their point. They were no longer anybody's slaves or goons. They made their own decisions from now on and they would fight their own battles, not anyone else's.

Now they were all on a beach. Fred was working on his tan, Pietro was surfing, and everyone else was swimming in the ocean. "This is the life." commented John. "You said it." said Wanda, who never visited the beach before in her life. Then she noticed her brother wasn't getting very high waves. She turned to Lance. "Mind helping my brother reach the Breaking Point (As in the movie)?" she asked. Lance smiled and created a tremor underwater. The tremor caused a large fifty feet wave to come right at Pietro.

He screamed as he tried to stay on his board. Finally, he lost his balance and fell into the ocean. Everybody laughed as Pietro swam back to his board. "That wasn't funny." he yelled. "I thought you said you were perfect when it came to surfing." chuckled John. "That didn't count, you cheated." snapped Pietro.

"Life is good." smiled Fred as he opened up a new bag of potato chips.

(Seeing the Brotherhood stand up to Mystique and kick her butt was one of the things I wanted to see in the Evolution cartoon. But it was not to be. Unfortunately, I said you would probably like this chapter but I don't think you'll like my next one. Someone is going to die.)


	49. Loss

(I thought this chapter wouldn't take so long but it did. Writing an angst isn't easy nor fun. But I liked how it turned out and I hope you will too. Who am I kidding? You will probably hate me for this.)

After two weeks of vacation in Mexico, the Brotherhood got back to their home via hitchhiking (or in their case threatening) rides to the border and followed a bunch of illegals into the US. Several Border Patrol agents tried to stop them but Wanda made quick work of them. In fact, the whole incident made her a big believer in immigration reform. Not really, she just needed something to be mad about until she could get her hands on Magneto.

A few days after they got home, everyone was doing what they usually do on a boring day. Sitting in front of the television in the living room. "Boring…boring…boring…" groaned Toad as he flipped from one channel to the next with the remote.

"GUYS!" yelled Pietro as he zipped into the living room so fast a sonic boom knocked out of their seats. In retaliation, an angry Wanda hexed her brother into the wall. But the speed demon was in such a good mood, he got back to his feet and cheered for joy.

"It finally happened! The day has come at last!" cheered Pietro. "Please tell me he didn't get his hands on some Mountain Dew again." whispered Kine. "What is going on Pietro?" demanded Lance. "HE'S GONE! HE'S GONE! And not just gone away from all of us, he's gone down to the one place where he deserves to be. IN THE SEWERS AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" laughed Pietro hysterically.

"Nope, even the Dew doesn't make him this crazy." Fred quipped. Wanda walked up and smacked Pietro on the back of the head. That seemed to snap him back to reality. "Oh, that's better." said Pietro. "You going to keep us in the dark or tell us what's going on mate?" asked John. "That pathetic loser Daniels is gone. He left the X-Men and is now living in the sewers with the Morlocks." answered Pietro. "The Morlocks? HAHAHAHAHA!...who are the Morlocks?" asked a confused Fred.

"Those mutants who live in the sewers. This is great. One less X-Geek to worry about." said Chris. "Now if only the same thing would happen to Summers." said Lance. "Yippie." groaned Wanda, not exactly finding the whole event important. "This calls for a celebration yo." said Toad, hopping over the large stereo system in the corner and started playing the Na Na Na Na Goodbye song.

* * *

After a few hours of partying, everyone except for Lance and Wanda were passed out on the living room floor. Wanda was in her room all night while Lance was picking up mess that his housemates left lying around. This wasn't the first time he's done this, in fact he's gotten quite used to it.

He groaned as his headache came back. The pain inside his skull always came now and then, sometimes unbearable. It didn't matter if he used his powers or not, it was still there. Pills made the pain bearable but only for awhile. He didn't tell the others about it, Lance didn't want to worry them. They could get so worked up over anything. He contemplated checking with Xavier about it but always rejected the idea. The last thing he needed was to owe something to him and his loser brigade. The only person he talked to it about was Doctor Donald Blake, the one doctor in town who wasn't prejudiced against mutants. He prescribed some pills to help but he warned Lance to take it easy.

Lance headed towards the closet and opened it to find his painkillers. Unfortunately, the bottle was out. With all the partying that went on, Alvers completely forgot about getting a refill earlier. It was eleven o'clock at night but thankfully, the pharmacy was open 24/7. Lance didn't feel like waiting till the morning so he quickly grabbed his keys and headed outside.

It didn't take long to get there, maybe about a twenty minute drive. The parking lot was empty, not a lot of customers at this hour. Lance parked the jeep and headed inside, unaware that he was being watched the whole time. A nearby black van had been following him the whole trip. Inside, four figures were prepping themselves.

The pharmacist was not happy to get Lance's medication but was happy to get him out as quickly as possible. Another racist jerk but Alvers could care less about that now. As soon as he walked outside, he popped out two pills into his mouth and swallowed them. He got into his jeep then felt a painful prick on his neck. He reached around and pulled a metal dart that was sticking out. Lance didn't even get a chance to even react to this before he slumped in his jeep unconscious.

* * *

"A little more to the left guys!" yelled Pietro, sitting on the couch and watching the television. The guys decided to do a softball game in the backyard and to make a long story short, Freddy hit a baseball so hard that it knocked over the satellite dish on the roof.

On of the roof, Toad and John were holding the old antennae. They were trying to find the right spot where they could get reception for the television. But it wasn't exactly an easy or pleasant job. "Man, why doesn't Freddy have to do this?" groaned Toad. "Is that a trick question? You want Freddy to stand here on the roof?" asked John. "Right, stupid question." moaned Toad. "A little more…A little more." yelled Pietro.

Wanda comes in and notices Freddy doing pushups. "What is going on?" demanded Wanda. "Baby Beluga here trashed our satellite dish. So it's only appropriate that he receive punishment." replied Pietro. "Twelve…thirteen…" gasped Freddy, not doing so well. In the rocking chair next to him was Kine and Chris, making sure he would keep going. "Where's Lance? His jeep isn't outside." said Wanda. "Who knows? Maybe he's come to his senses and tried to get himself a real girlfriend instead of a dim-witted valley girl." replied Pietro.

The TV reception started to return. "YES! Now I can watch Megan Fox on Opera." said Pietro. "You better be recording it!" yelled John from the rooftop. "I live with a bunch of morons." groaned Wanda. She was about to head outside when she heard a knock on the front door.

She glanced through a window and saw two uniformed police officers waiting outside. "Cops?" Wanda asked out loud. Upon hearing that, all the boys gasped. "Quick, flush the stash." Chris said. Pietro dashed upstairs, with the sound of a toilet flushing soon following.

Seeing as her housemates didn't have the guts, Wanda opened the front door. "Is there a problem officers?" she asked. "Uhh ma'am. Do you know a Lance Alvers?" asked Officer #1.

"What did he do this time?" groaned Wanda. "AHHHHHHHH!" both John and Toad screamed as they came crashing down the ground next to the cops. They were tangled together in cable attached to a TV antenna. "Forget it, Megan isn't worth this." groaned John.

"Just ignore them. That happens all the time." said Wanda. The cops both exchanged a confused look. "Uhh…okay." said Officer #2. "Ma'am, can we come inside?" asked Officer #1.

Pietro zipped up next to Wanda. "No, you need a warrant to enter this house. We may be mutants but we still have rights." he said. "Shut up it Pietro." Wanda said before turning back to the cops. "What about Lance?" she asked.

"I hate to tell you this ma'am but Mr. Alvers had an accident." said Officer #1. "WHAT?" all the Hood boys yelled at once, quickly gathering at the front door. "His jeep drove through a guardrail and fell off the top of Lookout Point. I'm afraid he didn't make it." said Officer #2.

All the Brotherhood members were silent, absolutely horrified. "He's…He's…NO! NO! He can't be!" yelled Fred, in denial. Toad's eyes flooded with tears as he busted out crying. The others were dumbfounded, completely speechless.

"What happened?" asked John. "As I said, his jeep went of the top of Lookout Point and exploded when it hit the bottom. A few nearby witnesses saw the whole thing and called 911." answered Officer #2.

"How do you know it's him?" asked Pietro, breaking the silence. "His DNA was entered into CODIS when he was arrested about two years ago. It matched the body we recovered from the wreckage." replied Officer #1. That was just before he moved into Bayville to join the Brotherhood.

* * *

Half an hour later of answering very personal questions about Lance, the Hood kicked the cops out. "They think he committed suicide! That's a load of bull…" yelled John. "Calm down John." said Wanda, ironic that it's coming from her.

"But he would never do that. He just wouldn't." pleaded Fred. "I'm with John and Fred on this one. No way he'd do it." said Kine. Toad busted up crying and leaped away to his room. "I'll talk to him." sighed Fred, walking after the amphibian mutant.

Chris wasn't crying, he looked like he was about to kill someone. "Uhh, you okay buddy?" asked Kine. Chris responded by kicking a nearby table over. He walked out through the backdoor. Kine followed him. "Please let this be a nightmare." groaned John as he headed upstairs.

Wanda noticed Pietro had a tear dripping down from one of his eyes. "Pietro." she whispered. "I'm fine." he quickly said, dashing off. He never was good when it came to loss. Even when Magneto told them their mother was in heaven, he cried that whole night.

* * *

Outside, Chris was kicking and hitting everything in sight. His knuckles were bleeding but he didn't care. "Whoa! Calm down Chris." pleaded Kine. "I can't! It's happening again! It's that same feeling I had when my dad died! And that piece of crap wasn't a third of the man Lance was! I shouldn't be feeling like this! Lance was better then him!" yelled Chris.

Kine always knew Chris had huge issues with his dad but he never really talked about him. "Well you can't really control how you feel Chris." replied Kine. "DON'T START TALKING LIKE XAVIER!" yelled Chris. "I'm sorry okay." said Kine, holding up his hands. Chris looked up at the sky. "You happy now? Want me to get down on my knees and call on you? Well it's never going to happen! Screw you!" he yelled upwards, as yelling as God himself. Kine figured Chris needed to be alone right now.

* * *

In his room, Toad was crying as Fred sat next to him. Blob was trying his best to come up with something to say but he was at a loss of words himself. "Don't feel too bad little buddy. Lance has gone on to a better place." Fred finally said. "You mean heaven? Which one?" asked Toad.

"Huh?" asked a confused Fred. "There are hundreds of religions with their own version of heaven and each religion has their subgroup that usually belief that their version of heaven is different from others." replied Toad. "Uhh…" stuttered Fred, completely confused.

"What do you think heaven's like?" asked Toad. "Uhh…well, a big place where everybody is happy, accepted, having fun. You know that stuff." said Fred. "I always thought heaven would be an endless field filled with rainbow colored flowers and lots and lots of colored butterflies." said Toad.

"Well whatever it looks like, Lance deserves to be there. He was the best substitute for a brother anybody could ever have." said Toad.

* * *

In the kitchen, Pietro grabbed a bottle of beer and started chugging it down. Wanda came in and hexed the bottle right out of his hand. "Pietro." she started to say. He went to grab another one but Wanda hexed all the bottles, causing them all to shatter into pieces.

Pietro tried to run away but Wanda hexed his feet to the floor. "Will you leave me alone?" he growled. "No because like it or not, I'm your sister. And I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not." replied Wanda. "By freezing me to the floor?" snapped Pietro.

"To tell you what you need to hear. I know you never told Lance that you loved him." said Wanda. "WHAT? Are you saying I'm gay?" yelled Pietro.

"Not that kind of love you numbskull. You loved him like a brother. But you never told him, you just kept doing your arrogant 'better then everybody else' act. And you feel guilty because you can't tell him now. You can't tell him how you considered him more then a friend but a brother. That's why you're rushing in here to grab some booze to try and take it all away. Well it doesn't work like that. Either you face your feelings or they are just going to stick right inside you, tearing you up. I may not be the poster child for the mentally sane but…I do know that you just have to let it all out." said Wanda. Pietro tried his hardest not to cry, embarrassed by the tears. So Wanda did the one thing sisters should do in this situation, she gave him a hug.

* * *

John continuously snapped his fingers. Various shaped flames came out each snap. He never really cared about anybody enough to be all filled up with emotion like this. His family was a strange bunch, mother bailed and father in jail for armed robbery. So he was alone most of his life. Amara was a welcome change but that didn't last. But now was the first time he actually faced a tremendous loss in his life. Life was just too short, he had to get this off his chest.

He picked up his phone and called Amara's cell. To no surprise, he got her voicemail. This was around the time the X-Geeks were doing combat drills out in the yard. When the beep finally came to record a message, he let out everything he had.

"Hey sheila, it's me. I know I haven't talked to you lately…in fact, we haven't talked in months. But, I wanted you to know that spending time with you was the best times of my life. This must sound completely like what Gerard Butler says in that romance movie…or was something like that Tom Hanks movie…I'm really sure which one it was sheila but I…I just…I just want to say." John spoke before giving up and snapping the phone shut. He just couldn't finish what he wanted to say but hopefully, she'd understand the rest.

* * *

It was late Saturday night when the X-Men and the New Mutants finished their Danger Room sessions. Everyone practically dove towards the dinning room after spending the past few hours with Wolverine. Kurt ate up his meal the fastest and teleported away. That way he got dibs on the tv in the living room.

"Ah am so glad this is the weekend." grumbled Rogue. "Yeah, I'll like take Wolverine over high school any day of the week." replied Kitty.

"So Professor, who were you talking to on the phone earlier?" asked Scott who overheard an interesting phone conversation. "It was Emma Frost. She was offering the chance for us to come visit her Massachusetts Academy. It would offer all of you some time away from Bayville and to be around others like us." replied Xavier.

"I don't know Chuck. Emma may have helped us but you've got to know she's got her own agenda." said Wolverine. "Still, it would be nice to finally get out of this mansion." said Beast.

Suddenly, Kurt teleported in the middle of the table. He knocked over various candles and decorations. "GUYS!" he yelled. "ELF! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't teleport on the table while we're eating!" yelled Logan. "It's Lance, he's dead." said Kurt.

The room went dead silent. "What?" yelled Kitty. "It was on the news. His jeep went off the side of Lookout Point, they say it was a suicide." answered Kurt. Kitty got up from her chair and ran off in tears. "Ah'll talk to her." said Rogue, going after Pryde.

The X-Men were just stunned. They may not have liked Lance but they would never wish anything like this on him.

* * *

The Brotherhood stood over a cliff facing the ocean. They just picked up Lance's ashes from the crematory. They decided to do his funeral immediately; they needed to get through it. Toad held the urn as Pietro stood in front of the others.

"Lance was the big brother to all of us. We sometimes clashed with him but you always do that with a brother. He acted all tough while Mystique was gone because he knew he would have to take care of us and wanted us to feel secure. That always annoyed me but now I realize he meant well. Bye Lance, you were the big brother we needed." said Pietro. He stepped aside as Fred stepped forward.

"Lance and me didn't get along at first. He would always call me some name that referred to my weight. But after awhile, those stopped. Not because I threatened to crush him but he realized it hurt my feelings. He was one of the first few people who actually cared about how I felt. Like Pietro said, he was the older brother who annoyed us, maybe harassed us a little, but in the end cared about all of us." said Fred. He moved as it was Wanda's turn.

"I didn't know Lance very long or very well for that matter. I thought he was mullet-wearing bad boy wannabe loser. But for the few months I knew him, he became family to me. As did all of you. You're all annoying in your ways….Some more then others. But you're just like Lance, you mean well and I'm going to miss him." she said. Next up was Kine. "You guys pretty much said what I was going to say." he announced before moving away.

Next up, Chris. "You guys all talk about family. Well, I hate family. My old man was a telepath and a drunk, a bad combination. He used to smack my mom and I around sometimes just for having a thought he didn't like. Then I got my powers and he was scared of me, wouldn't come near me. But he hurt my mom all the time. I begged her to leave him but she wouldn't. As time went on, I began to hate her as much as him. Then one day, I snapped at the old man. I used so much psy static on him that he died of a brain aneurism. I didn't mean to but I just snapped. My mother knew what I had done and went ballistic. Even though I saved her from that maniac, she hated me for what I did. The cops sent her to the nuthouse when she started telling them that I killed my old man with psychic powers. So I absolutely hate family. Lance was a friend and a good one. Friends stick by you no matter what. That's better then family and so was he." he said. The others were a bit stunned by his confession.

Now John stepped forward. "Time is so short for us all. We never know when it will come to an end for ourselves or the ones we care about. So Lance, you may be gone. But I'll cherish the time you were here with us." he said.

The last was Toad. "I know you're watching from above Lance. I know you sometimes thought you were worthless but you were never that. This worlds going to suck with you yo. Do send us a rainbow or two sometime." he said, keeping it short. With that said, Tolansky dumped the ashes into the ocean below. Everyone let out their tears, the realization this was the final goodbye for their friend finally hit them.

A distance away, Kitty watched the whole thing with tears. She never talked to Lance after their argument in the aftermath of escaping Area 51. And now she never will. She stayed out of sight, the last thing the Brotherhood needed to see was her. Standing beside her was Kurt.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked. "Just take me home Kurt." she whispered. Kurt gave her a nod and touched her shoulder before teleporting them both away.

* * *

Essex smiled as he looked into the large liquid tub before him. Inside, the experiment that he had been hoping for was finally underway. The time he would finally begin the end of this era and bring forth a glorious new age. Stryfe stepped up beside him.

"He doesn't look like much." said Stryfe. "For now, but once the implants finish assimilating his body, he will be unstoppable." replied Sinister. The scientist glanced at his partner.

"I trust the ruse worked?" he asked. "The Marauders made sure the accident was perfect and switching the DNA profile on the DOJ database was quite simple." said Stryfe. "Excellent. Now no one will come looking for him. If only the boy actually knew that he will wake up a god in the morning." smiled Sinister.

In the tub, metallic wiring spread over Lance Alver's body. Soon his transformation would be complete.

(Like I said, you wouldn't like it because I fibbed. I was never going to have Lance die. Originally, I was going to not include the last part revealing Lance was still alive. But I was afraid how everyone was going to react. I'm a Lance fan and I would be mad if he died too. Next chapter: The Toad, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Wanda is kidnapped by the Acolytes and it's up to the Hood to rescue her.)


	50. The Toad, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

(Apologies for the long delay. I am currently working two jobs and have a home improvement project that are all taking up my time. So when I'm all done working for the day, I want to hit the sack more then writing the next chapter.)

Obsession doesn't even begin to describe Wanda's quest for revenge against her father. More like the only thing that was on her mind day and night. She fantasized about what pain she would inflict upon him, to hear his screams and know that he brought it upon himself. But first, she had to find him.

She finally managed to arrange a meeting with a mutant named Caliban. He had the power to locate other mutants but he is unable to locate Magneto due to his helmet. Wanda then asked him to locate one of his Acolytes, he gave her an address to a dinner in a small town about fifty miles away from Bayville. He didn't say who it was but Wanda didn't really care.

Wanda got there via the bus and when she arrived, she instantly knew who her target was. Inside the dinner sat that trench coat wearing Cajun by the name of Gambit. He was sitting at a table alone and was playing what looked like Solitaire with his cards.

Wanda kicked the entrance door open and everyone inside glanced at her. Gambit wasn't surprised in slightest to see her. In fact, he waved her to join him. "Over here Chere." he said. With a wave of hand, every utensil and plate in the room went flying into the air. Everyone screamed and ran out the side door.

Gambit sighed with a hint of annoyance. "Now why'd you go and do something like that?" he asked. Wanda didn't answer as she sat down next to him. "Where's Magneto?" she demanded.

"Calm down Chere. You'll work up an appetite with all this huffing and puffing. Hope you don't mind, I ordered for the both of us." answered Gambit. He snapped his fingers and a frightened waitress walked out with two plates filled with cuisine and salad.

She set the plates down on their table and quickly ran out the door. "Thank you." Remy yelled out to her. He turned back to Wanda. "Eat up. Ain't healthy running around on an empty stomach." he said.

Wanda sent hex bolt that shattered both plates on the wall. "Now that was just rude." said Remy, still unconcerned. Something was wrong, he was way too calm. Guys like him always have that bravado face but still, the calm on Gambit's face wasn't right. Unless of course, Gambit wanted her here and that meant…a trap.

Wanda instantly sent a hex bolt that knocked Gambit off his chair and ran towards the door. She quickly ran outside and checked around. No one was in sight. Maybe she was wrong. That thought quickly went away when something sharp hit her in the neck. Wanda pulled it off to see it was tranquilizer dart. She tossed it aside and took a step before dropping to the ground unconscious.

Gambit steps outside with a satisfied smile on his face. He's soon joined by Domino, holding a dart rifle. "And here I thought this was going to be hard." said Remy.

* * *

"Wanda." gasped Toad, who just saw the whole thing. He had been following his sweetums around for the past half an hour and managed to hide underneath the bus she rode in. Then he saw her go inside a restaurant. He slowly creeped to a better vantage point then saw Wanda come running out and got a tranquilizer in the neck. Now Gambit and Domino were loading Wanda into a van being driven by Colossus.

Toad watched them drive away and knew he had to follow them. A biker nearby was getting on his motorcycle and that gave the amphibious mutant an idea. He leaped forward and drop kicked the biker off. Then he started up the engine and drove after the van. His whole plan seemed genius until he came across a big problem. He was having a hard time steering the bike.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Toad as he swerved the bike back and forth on the road. Though it was only a few minutes, Toad swore the whole trip took an eternity. He stopped the bike and let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw the van stopping in the woods up ahead. He followed the three Acolytes as they carried Wanda deeper into the brush.

Finally, Toad saw a massive metallic dome. Most likely Magneto's base. A hole formed in the side and the three Acolytes entered. It closed as soon as they stepped inside. "Ah man." gulped Toad. He needed help and fast.

* * *

There are a few bad things about being around summer time. Ninety degree weather being of course being at the top. And who would have thought this was all happening a few months before school was even out. Not that any of the Brotherhood actually still went to school, it was still weird. Maybe global warming wasn't a joke after all or maybe it is. Pietro didn't really care. All he cared about was that the air conditioning was screwed up and now the house felt like an oven. "Why can't anybody fix the AC around here?" he yelled out to no one in particular.

Hoping that his fellow housemates would fix it was a pipedream at best. They couldn't unscrew a light bulb without something bad happening. Pietro finally got off the couch and head towards the front door. As soon as he stepped outside, ice-cold water came crashing down on him. Maximoff screamed as he suddenly went from sweating to freezing. His teeth chattered as he glanced up to a bucket hanging above the entrance, part of a contraption of rope and pullies that lead to the side of the house where Kine and Chris were filming Pietro and laughing at the same time.

"Will that dampen your whining?" chuckled Kine. "Die!" yelled Pietro who zipped over tackled Kine to the ground. The two continued brawling when they heard a scream. They looked up and to their surprise, Toad was riding a motorcycle right towards them. They screamed and jumped out of the way as Toad passed right by them. The little mutant hopped off and the bike crashed into a nearby set of bushes.

Pietro zipped up to Toad and grabbed him by the collar. "You're dead Bog Breath." growled Pietro. "WANDA'S BEEN KIDNAPPED BY MAG'S GOONS. WE'VE GOTTA SAVE HER!" yelled Toad. "What? Start talking and I mean fast Wart Farm." said Pietro.

* * *

After a quick explanation by Toad and gathering the others, the Hood found themselves outside Magneto's base. Now they had to solve the biggest problem they've ever faced. "Where in the heck is the door?" asked Fred, scratching his head.

"I don't exactly see a doorbell." said Kine. "Even if there was, it's not like we can go up and knock. My father may be a lot of things but being an idiot isn't one of them. There is no way he'll let us in as long as Wanda's in there." said Pietro.

"Maybe I can break through." suggested Fred. "You're unmovable mate, not unstoppable." quipped John. "Yeah. Who knows how thick the walls are." added Chris.

"Well we can't just sit around here. We are not losing anybody else." said Pietro. "Uhh…I'm clueless." moaned Fred. "In more ways then one." muttered Kine underneath his breath. "What was that?" yelled Fred. "He said I'm sure we'll find one." Chris said quickly, covering for Kine.

"I've got two ideas but you won't like either of them." said Toad. "What are they?" asked John. "We get Fuzzball to teleport us inside." answered Toad. "NEXT!" everyone but Toad yelled at once. "We get Valley girl to phase us through." answered Toad. "You're wrong from before Toad. I don't like these options, I HATE THEM!" yelled John. "I now believe that there is a God and that he completely hates us." groaned Chris.

"Enough talking! Let's go!" yelled Toad.

* * *

"Are you sure he's coming here?" asked Fred, sitting in the back of the car waiting on a street corner. Pietro and Toad were in the front. "Positive. In my constant quest for a make a particular X-Geek miserable for my own amusement, I have studied and singled out potential targets. Fuzzball is one, Summers is the other. Personally I'd rather harass the blue elf, One Eyes is just too easy." said Pietro.

"You mean you stalked them?" asked Fred. "NOOO! I just studied them, there's a difference." snapped Pietro. "Not from where I'm sitting." said Fred. "Anyways. Blue Boy has a date with that...I don't remember her name, the point is he'll be here." said Pietro.

"You don't remember a girl's name? Now I know there's something wrong with you." chuckled Fred. "Oh ha ha ha, that's funny coming from you mister horizontally challenged." shot back Pietro. "You take that back." growled Fred, cracking his knuckles. "Knock it off you two, here he comes." said Toad.

Sure enough, around the corner walking on the sidewalk was Nightcrawler. His holographic inducer altered to a tuxedo, obviously trying to impress the folks. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't going to get the chance. Before he could take another step, he was grabbed by Pietro and Toad. The whole thing caught the X-Man completely by surprise and before he knew what happened, he was dragged to Blob who put him in a bear hug.

"Let go of me you overweight…" yelled Kurt. "I wouldn't finish that if I were you. And don't even think about teleporting cause that won't make me let go. I'm the indestructible one here not you." warned Blob. "Listen up Fuzzy, Mags has kidnapped Wanda and we need your help to get her back." said Toad. "We'll explain on the way there." said Pietro. Everyone was getting into the car except for Kurt who was manhandled inside.

"If Magneto kidnapped Wanda, then we should call the Professor. Get him to help." pleaded Kurt, who just wanted to get out of Fred's bearhug. "Not going to happen elf." said Pietro, quickly swiping Nightcrawler's inducer. Kurt's appearance changed to his blue natural state. "Hey, give me that back!" yelled Kurt. "I will as soon as you help us." said Pietro. "Kidnapping somebody and blackmailing them is not how you ask for help." snapped Kurt. "I know, but it works just fine for us." said Toad.

It didn't take long before all the Brotherhood assembled outside Magneto's base with Kurt. He was still angry about the whole thing but he decided to help out if it got him away from Blob. The plan was to have Pietro, Toad, Pyro, and Kine get inside and get Wanda out. They figured Blob wasn't appropriate for a stealth mission and Chris's powers are useless against Magneto as long as his helmet is on.

"Alright, it's real simple. You get us inside and we take care of the rest." said Pietro. "I still say we should call the Professor." grumbled Kurt. Pietro held up Kurt's inducer and mockingly waved it back and forth in his face. "Alright fine." snapped Nightcrawler. He grabbed the Hood members going inside and they disappeared, leaving only behind a wisp of smoke.

"So…you know any good jokes to pass the time?" Chris asked Fred.

* * *

As everybody suspected, everything inside the dome was metal. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, the doors, all metal. Which meant if they got into a fight with Magneto, they were completely screwed. The group creeped forward as quietly as possible.

"Ouch." groaned Kurt, John accidentally stepped on his tail. "Watch the tail elf." shot back Pyro. "Why don't you just zip through the base and save us the trouble of finding Wanda?" Toad asked Pietro. "Because my father would know. Just trust me on this." replied Pietro.

They made their way into a large circular room with an ugly looking man standing over Wanda who was strapped down to a chair. He turned around to see Pietro's fist coming flying into his face. "Step off creep." said Pietro. Toad dropkicked him, knocking him out. John and Kine quickly tried to rip the restraints off Wanda's hands but were having no success. "Maybe I can burn them off." suggested John. "And Wanda's hands as well." snapped Toad. "I'll take care of this." said Kurt who grabbed Wanda and teleported her out of the chair. He reappeared a few feet away.

"Alright we got her now let's get out of here." said Kurt. He grabbed the others. Just as he was going to teleport, Domino stepped into the room with a pistol drawn and fired a rubber bullet right at Nightcrawler's head. The bullet hit him just as he teleported everyone away. Domino quickly ran to a nearby wall terminal and hit the intruder alarm.

* * *

The Hood reappeared in a different room but they were still inside Magneto's dome. An alarm echoed through the halls, whatever surprise advantage they had was gone. "Yo elf, why'd you…" Toad was about to ask when he noticed Kurt was unconscious. The Hood members all looked at each other with the same "oh crap" face.

"Now what do we do?" groaned Kine. "Maybe I can light fuzzy's tail on fire. That should wake him up." suggested John. "What is it with you and burning things?" groaned Toad. "Fire is my power. What do you expect me to suggest?" shot back John. "Somebody's coming." gulped Pietro, hearing footsteps outside a nearby door.

John's lite his hands on fire, waiting for burn whoever stepped into the room. He didn't get the chance when metal strips came out the ground and wrapped around him. He went flying into a nearby wall. The metal from the wall and John's restraints melded seamlessly together. Metallic spikes began forming all around the floor, preventing Toad from jumping away or Pietro running off. "I hope your dad's in a good mood today." gulped Kine. The door opened and to everyone's surprise, in stepped Lorna Dale.

"Lorna?" everybody yelled at once. Her eyes narrowed, confused. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked. "Uhh…would you believe we were in the neighborhood?" said John. She glanced at the unconscious Wanda and Kurt and realized everything. "Glad to see you people at least have loyalty." she commented. "Uhh…Can we ask a favor? Could you please make the spikes go away? They make me nervous." said Pietro. Instantly, the spikes retracted underground and John restraints released. He dropped to the ground. Then a hole opened in the wall, revealing a way outside.

The Hood all stared at Lorna completely confused. "Why?" asked Kine. "Call it a favor for old time's sake." she replied. "But what happened to you? I thought you were with the X-Geeks." said Pietro. Lorna frowned. "I was but…I need to stay here. It's where I belong." she said. Something was off, it was like she was trying to convince herself more then the others. "You all need to leave now. It's not going to take the others long to find you." she continued.

"Thanks yo. For one of Mag's goons, you ain't so bad." said Toad, who picked up Wanda and hopped out. John and Kine grabbed Kurt and dragged him out.

"Look sis. I know you're my sister and trust me when I say you don't want to be working for our egomaniacal father." said Pietro. "He's trying to built a safe future for all mutants." said Lorna. "No he's not. I've worked for him for years Lorna, believe me when I say we are not his priority." warned Pietro. "Liar! He would never…" Lorna said before touching her head, as if she suddenly had a migraine. Now Pietro knew something was really wrong. What did Father do to her? He would have inquired more but he heard footsteps outside and quickly bolted out the hole.

Lorna quickly closed the hole just before Colossus ran inside. "Did you see them?" he asked. "They're gone." she simply replied.

* * *

Outside waiting by the car, Chris groaned as Fred told another terrible joke. "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the all you can eat buffet line. Wouldn't you be running to that too?" laughed Fred. Chris was starting to contemplate suicide when he saw the others running out of the woods. "Start the car yo. They're probably right behind us." yelled Toad. Chris quickly started the engine as the others loaded Wanda and Kurt along with themselves. Pietro quickly zipped into a seat. "Let's go." he said.

* * *

After dropping off Kurt at the Institute and leaving a note explaining what happened, the Hood drove back to their house. When they got home, Wanda regained consciousness and started saying the oddest things.

"Now that I think about it, I don't remember why I was mad at father in the first place." she said. "Oh, I can help you with that…" Toad started to say before Pietro grabbed him and zipped into the other room.

"Don't even think about it Toad." warned Pietro. "Do what? Tell her the truth?" asked Toad. "Exactly. Look, from what I can gather Magneto altered her memories into a pleasant childhood and take away her reason for hating him. She's much happier now then she's ever been and I'm not going to let you ruin that." explained Pietro.

"So…just go along with it?" asked Toad. "Exactly." nodded Pietro. Toad smiled. "Hey, if she can get over being angry at her father then maybe she can grow to like me." said Toad. He was about to leap back towards Wanda when Pietro grabbed him again.

"Don't ever think about it Toadstool." snapped Pietro. "I just want to say hi to her." shot back Toad. The two of them started wrestling until they came to the basement staircase and well…I don't think I need to explain any further what happened. "Oh." groaned Toad as the two Hood members lay at the bottom of the stairs on top of each other.

(For those of you who want me to have Toad trying to woo Wanda with Kurt's inducer, I'm saving that for another chapter. I know that Self Possessed takes place before Lock and Key. But I'm doing Lock and Key next and with a big twist. The X-Men and Acolytes try to stop Mesmero from getting one of the keys to freeing Apocalypse but they have a huge problem by the name of Famine, Horseman of the Apocalypse. Don't forget to review.)


	51. Famine

Magneto levitated gently and smoothly through the air, keeping his distance from his target. For the past hour, the Master of Magnetism had been following a strange man who approached Gambit just as he left the base for a scouting mission.

Magneto caught the whole thing on his surveillance drones and soon went after him. It was clear that the man was a telepath but to intentionally take control of someone with Gambit's skills meant he must have some idea of who he is. That meant he needed Gambit to steal something and not some simple jewel heist. He needed the Cajun for a major score. So Eric stayed back and allowed the man to continue his plan. As much as he wanted to teach the telepath a lesson, he needed to figure out his motives first.

Eventually, he watched them arrive at a mansion. One owned by Warren Worthington, a mutant with bird-like wings. Magneto tried to approach him, to make him see the bigger picture. But in the end, he was a fool and no longer worthy of Magneto's attention.

He watched as Gambit effortlessly made his way into the building, bypassing every security measure. A few minutes later, an explosion blasted a hole in wall. Gambit came running out, carrying some sort of artifact with him. He handed the telepath the prize as Warren came flying out. With a simple psychic blast, the angelic mutant was knocked unconscious. Now was the time to make his move.

Creating magnetic fields around the arrow-tipped steel fence, Magneto ripped it apart and sent pieces flying around the telepath, creating a type of crude holding cell. The Master of Magnetism floated down into view, seeing the man's face for the first time. He had tattoos covering nearly his entire face, what meaning they had Magneto didn't know.

"Whoever you are, you've got courage." commented Magneto as he slowly set down on his feet. The man concentrated, obviously trying to use a psychic blast. His attack was completely futile. "Don't bother. You're psychic blasts do not affect me." said Magneto. The man turned and sent a mental command to Gambit. The Cajun pulled out a card and sent kinetic energy through it. Magneto had no intention of fighting one of his own soldiers. While deal with a puppet when you can go after the puppeteer.

The metal prison closed on in the telepath. Metal bars wrapping around his body, threatening to crush every bone in his body. "Release your hold on Gambit now." ordered Magneto, causing the bars to squeeze harder to make sure his prisoner got the message.

The man quickly conceded and sent a telepathic burst to Gambit. The Cajun groaned, holding his head. "Where am I?" he asked, starting to regain his senses. Magneto stepped forward and took the artifact out of the telepath's hand. "Now we'll see if this artifact was really worth it." he commented as he levitated into the air. The metal bars surrounding the telepath dug and bent underneath the pavement. Magneto raised the bars, taking a chunk of concrete with them. The telepath was helpless to do anything.

Gambit didn't need to be told what to do, he just simply followed the boss. Meanwhile, Angel regained consciousness and saw the three leaving.

* * *

Sinister stared into the large clear tube of liquid, the transformation complete. The process was a complete success, the implants integrated perfectly with the host. A ringing of his satellite phone broke his concentration.

"Yes?" he answered it. "Boss, Bucket Head's taken the bait." reported Gorgeous George. "Excellent. Return to base." smiled Essex before hanging up the phone. It was time. Essex approached a nearby terminal and entered a command. The tube began to drain of liquid. The host inside opened it's eyes.

Magneto paced impatiently back and forth in his office. Mastermind's interrogation was taking too long. He managed to identify the man as Mesmero and that he used to be a circus performer but other then that, nothing. The mutant had extremely powerful mental defenses. Finally, Magneto had enough waiting. He used his magnetism to open a hole not just in the wall next to him but through every wall until the interrogation room. Eric simply strolled from room to room, hole to hole. Occasionally passing one of his Acolytes who knew better then to say anything to him at this point.

"What have you learned?" demanded Magneto as he walked up to Mastermind who was standing next to Mesmero. The tattooed mutant was strapped down to a chair. "The spiderstone has a second half. It resides in London Tisdale Museum. Together they form a key." answered Mastermind.

"To what?" asked Magneto. "To unleash the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen. En Sabah Nur. You know him as Apocalypse." answered Mesmero.

* * *

Angel just finished debriefing Xavier on what transpired at his mansion and Charles quickly summoned all the X-Men to the X-Jet. The New Mutants were left behind in the care of Beast. Xavier gave them the facts as they took off.

"So you think Magneto's going after this other piece?" asked Summers. "If this spiderstone is really a key, then Magneto will need both halves to complete it." said Xavier. "A key to what?" asked Kurt. "I don't know but if Magneto is involved, then we can't take any chances." said Xavier.

"So we're like going to…steal it?" asked Kitty. "Think of it as protecting it." added Logan. "Yeah, the local security guards ain't exactly going to stop Magneto's goons." quipped Rogue.

* * *

"How could this have happened!" yelled Magneto as he entered the interrogation room. Mesmero was gone along with the artifact. "I don't know. Magneto if he puts the two stones together…" Mastermind said.

"That is not going to happen! Gather my Acolytes, we're going to London." said Magneto.

* * *

All is quiet at the London Tisdale Museum. It had been closed for hours and now only consisted of about four security guards. They didn't need a large detail as the police response time was only a few minutes. What they didn't count on was somebody who could manipulate magnetism. With a simple thought, Magneto sent an EMP that disabled every electronic device in the building. Then he sent a magnetic wave that ripped the front doors right off their hinges.

Magneto floated inside with the rest of the Acolytes behind them. "I will remain outside should our old friend come." said Exodus who remained at the front doors. "Very well. The rest of you fan out and secure the building." ordered Magneto.

At the employee lounge, a guard passed the time on his break by playing solitaire. Then a glowing card landed on the table. "Need an Ace of Clubs miseur?" asked Remy, standing right next to the guard. The card exploded, knocking the guard backwards. Gambit shoved him into a closet and shut the door, locking the man inside by putting a chair next to the door knob. While the guard was screaming to be let out, Remy noticed a pattern of cards on the table he could finish. He set down a Five of Hearts and smiled, pleased with himself.

Elsewhere, Colossus hid by pretending to be a suit of armor. When a guard passed by, he quickly grabbed him and dragged him off. Blink teleported in front of another guard and throw an energized harpoon him, teleporting the guard to the other side of London. And Domino disposed of the last guard by throwing a gas grenade at his feet. When the green smoke seeped out, the guard was unconscious in seconds.

"Boss, Magneto's arrived with his goons. Looks like they fell for it." reported Scalphunter in London. Essex laughed as he hung up his satellite phone. "Hook, line, and sinker." smirked Sinister upon hearing from his Marauders that Magneto and the Acolytes were attacking the museum.

* * *

Everything was going according to plan. He turned to a nearby stasis chamber. Inside floating in the green liquid was the now complete Horseman of Apocalypse. A mutant transformed by nanotechnology into the ultimate weapon. A fusion of flesh and steel with limitless power. Essex envied the mutant. What he once was didn't matter, now he was a god.

He pressed a button on a nearby control terminal. The liquid emptied out of the chamber. The Horsemen opened his eyes, his body a seamless blend of organic and machine. Various Egyptian symbols glowing green covered his outer layer, all referring to Apocalypse. Famine was his name. Famine broke out with a single punch, shattering the glass chamber. A metallic skin began to grow on him, covering him like an advanced form of armor. The armor grew excessively over his head, forming an Anubis shaped helmet overtop of his head.

"I serve the will of Apocalypse." he stated with a digitized voice. "The second key will soon be ready for you to acquire. Once Magneto has disabled the guardian, you will take possession of the key and unlock the second door." said Sinister.

The whole room began to shake violently. Sinister struggled to stay on his feet as rocks began to break through the floor around Famine. They formed around him in a large sphere. Then the rock sphere dropped into the ground, disappearing.

"Hmm, certainly beats flying coach." commented Essex.

* * *

Outside the museum, the X-Jet landed and the X-Men disembarked and headed towards the main entrance. But they instantly stopped at the sight of Exodus standing in front of the smashed doors. Scott was about to blast him but Exodus held up his hand.

"Wait. I'm not here to fight but talk. Should you step inside, my comrades will not be as courteous. I wish to talk to Charles alone." said Exodus. "All of you go inside." said Xavier. "But Professor…" Jean protested. "Go, I'll be fine." Xavier insisted. The X-Men all ran inside, passing by Exodus without incident.

"It has been a long time old friend." said Exodus. "Yes it has." replied Xavier. "Things are getting worse for our kind Charles. How much longer will you continue defending the humans?" asked Exodus. "For as long as it takes until both man and mutant can live peacefully." answered Charles.

"A future that will soon be crushed. Not by me or Eric but a horror from the past." said Exodus.

* * *

Inside, Victor Creed patrolled along a series of windows. As he passed by one, he noticed a dark shadow. Before he had time to react, the window burst open and the shadow become Jean Grey. She wrapped Creed up telekinetically with a large carpet banner and hurled him into a wall.

Creed managed to break free only to get blasted by Scott. He went flying right into Colossus and bounced off the metal mutant harmlessly. The rest of the X-Men and Acolytes assembled opposite of each other. "Well well. The Geek Brigade is back for more embarrassment." chuckled Domino.

She pulled out two machine pistols and fired away. If Jean didn't create a telekinetic shield around everyone, they'd all be down for the count. "Good. They want to do things the hard way." smiled Gambit. He tossed up all 52 cards of his deck into the air, all kinetically charged.

"Scatter!" yelled Logan. The X-Men all ran as the cards came down like a series of bombings. Explosions and smoke covered the entire room, visibility near zero. Despite that, Creed tackles Logan and they continue their several hundred year blood feud.

Rogue remained as silent as she could and waited for any sound. When it came, she charged towards it. Before she could reach the silhouette, it raised it's hands and blocked her with a metal staff. It was then that she realized she was standing face to face with Gambit.

"Chere, always a pleasure to make your acquaintance." smiled Gambit. _Why did it have to be him?_ thought Rogue, not exactly happy to be face to face with this guy once again. She went for a punch but Remy easily avoided it. She tried a series of martial arts punches and kicks but none of them connected. Gambit was better trained in hand to hand combat then Rogue suspected. All she had to do to put him down was touch him but that was proving to be harder said then done. Finally, she managed to do a leg sweep that caught him by surprise.

She leaped on top of him but he shifted his weight and before Rogue even knew it, he was on top of her. His smile revealed he most likely planned this as he held down her hands. "I'll get off if you say please." he said with a grin on his face.

Rogue managed to lifted up her legs and knee him in the back. This caused him to lean forward just enough for Rogue to do the only thing she could do at the moment, kiss him. He gasped as the simple touch sapped away his strength. He slumped to the side unconscious. "Something tells me he's going to be smiling when he wakes up." Rogue mumbled to herself as she got to her feet.

Blink managed to knock out Storm within seconds of the first explosions and teleported to the ceiling, allowing her to spot movement down below. She spotted a silhouette and teleported down. When she got there, she was alone. The teleported didn't notice Kitty come out of the ground behind her and delivered a roundhouse kick to Blink's head.

But Blink caught the kick at the last second and hurled Kitty at the wall. Shadowcat disappeared right through it. She came back a second later. The two female mutants began exchanging punches and kicks. They teleported and phased whenever one of them was close to making a hit.

Domino easily disposed of Kurt with a few kicks. Then she ducked just before an optic blast flew right over her head. Cyclops tried to shoot her but Domino easily rolled underneath and jumped over every shot. She rolled towards Scott and leaped into the air for a flying kick. But just as she was about to hit him, she was frozen in the air. Domino groaned as Jean stepped out of the smoke. "Aww crap." groaned Domino before Scott blasted her.

Storm got back to her feet and summoned a whirlwind that cleared the air. Now the whole room was finally visible. Creed and Logan were still fighting in the corner, with Creed tackling Wolverine through some doors into another room. Blink continued her fight with Shadowcat but teleported away before she was hit by an optic blast.

Colossus managed to take every blow from Jean and Scott without damage. He ripped a pillar off the wall and tossed it at them. Scott fired an optic blast that shredded the projectile into pieces. Colossus was about to charge when Rogue touched him from behind. He dropped to the ground unconscious.

Domino throws grenades at Scott and Jean but Grey easily stops them in mid-air. That only makes Domino smile as she closes her eyes and covers her ears. Jean realized too late that the grenades were flash bangs. The resulting blast of intense light and sound stunned everyone except Domino and Rogue (in metal form).

Within the blink of an eye, Domino tosses darts at every stunned X-Men. Everyone except Rogue is unconscious in seconds. "You're luck just ran out." Rogue said, ready to charge. Domino glanced over Rogue's shoulder.

"What took you so long?" Domino asked. Rogue turned to see Lorna Dale standing right behind her. "Lorna?" gasped Rogue. Before she had a chance to react, Lorna sent a magnetic field that hurled Rogue's body into the wall.

Having no choice, Rogue returns to human form and Domino tosses a gas grenade at her feet. The Southern Belle drops to her knees, gasping for air. "Why?" she managed to get out before slumping to the ground. "Because it's the only way to protect all of you." Lorna tells Rogue before everything goes black.

* * *

Outside, Paris Bennett and Charles Xavier continued their conversation. "Apocalypse may have been the first mutant to ever exist. At the height of his power, he dominated the known world. Archeological records point to his empire stretching from Egypt to China and several Egyptian hieroglyphics representing Apocalypse have been found in Mexico and Latin America as well." explained Exodus.

"I've never heard of this from any archeologist." said Xavier. "Because they either don't know of the evidence or don't care about it. They would prefer to keep believing in their own theories of how history played out." replied Exodus. "A dark enemy is coming Charles. We are not yours." said Exodus. "And what of the humans?" asked Xavier. "Their time is over." Bennett simply answered.

Before Xavier could respond, an explosion blew out a massive hole in the museum second floor. Out of it crawled a large green translucent spider. It crawled down the building and made it's way across the parking lot, trampling every car that got in it's way.

Exodus flew over to Magneto who levitated himself weakly out the second floor. "Are you alright?" Paris asked. "A momentary weakness. I won't make that mistake again." growled Magneto, angered by being unable to stop the spider. The Acolytes, with some injuries, all came running out.

"I don't care what it takes. Destroy that spider." ordered Magneto. His Acolytes took off in pursuit. Xavier was caught a little off guard to see Lorna being one of them. But he quickly turned his attention back to Eric.

"Magnus stop, we don't know anything about it." pleaded Charles. "I know enough. That's one key that won't be unlocking any door." replied Magneto before floating away.

The X-Men came running out with their own set of bruises and battle scars. "We have to stop that spider but don't destroy it. Something about all of this isn't right." said Xavier.

* * *

Despite the Acolytes earlier success with the X-Men, they weren't having the same luck with the spider. Colossus tried to tackle it but got zapped by energy that his metal form couldn't protect him from. Creed attacked it with a metal beam but all that accomplished was getting smacked through a nearby RV. Blink tried to teleport on top of it but got zapped the instant she materialized. Lorna tried using magnetism to hold the spider in place but found she wasn't powerful enough to stop it. Domino pulled out a grenade launcher and emptied all of her clips but still nothing. Remy tossed charged cards at it with no success as well.

"How are we supposed to hurt this thing?" grunted Lorna. Paris levitated the spider telekinetically but the spider sent an energy feedback that knocked Exodus off his feet. The X-Men showed up, ready for round 2.

"Unless you want to fight that thing and us, you back off now." demanded Summers. "You want to fight that thing? Be my guest." replied Domino. Summers fired an optic blast at the spider which only bounced off.

Storm summoned a chain of lightning bolts that hit the spider's legs but they barely slowed it down. "I've got it." yelled Kitty who dashed forward. "No wait!" shouted Jean but it was too late. Kitty tried to phase one of the spider's legs into the ground but was repelled away violently, knocking her out.

"It's no good. That thing is impervious to everything but magnetism." said Lorna. "What are you doing with them?" yelled Rogue. "Can we do the angry betrayal reunion rant later?" groaned Blink. That's when Rogue realized Gambit was missing from the group. "Where's the Cajun?" she asked.

A double Decker bus came screeching around a corner and headed full speed towards the spider. Inside, Gambit charged it with kinetic energy then dove out. The bus crashed into the spider and exploded, the blast knocking the X-Men and Acolytes off their feet.

"I do believe that slowed it down." bragged Gambit just as Magneto landed next to him. "Just long enough." grunted Magneto. He stepped forward as the spider started ripping it's way through the debris.

Mesmero walked away from the Museum quite satisfied. The plan worked just as Essex had predicted. Magneto's pride and lust for power blinded from thinking clearly. He saw the spider as an enemy instead of it's true purpose.

Mesmero lost his train of thought when he spotted Xavier right in front of him. "Xavier." he growled. "Mesmero, I want answers." Charles said with a tone of contempt. Mesmero screamed as Xavier began a psychic assault on his mind. Despite the master's upgrades, Xavier determination was too much.

Suddenly, the ground exploded between the two of them as massive rock rose up. The rock cracked and shattered into thousands of pieces as Famine stepped out. He glanced at Xavier and sent him flying out of his chair with a tremor. "The key is that way." said Mesmero, pointing the Horsemen in the right direction. Without a word, Famine turned and walked towards his target.

* * *

Magneto let loose with all of his power. He unleashed so much electromagnetism that the spider is overwhelmed. It hisses at it's body is crushed and compacted. It is extinguished with a single bright burst of light. The key, comprised of two halves, lay resting at Magneto's feet. He drops to his knees exhausted.

"What have you done?" yelled Storm. "What you should have helped us do in the first place." shot back Domino. A soft rumble shakes the street. "That spider wasn't attacking anyone, it was just defending itself." said Kurt. "What are you? PETA's spokesman? Or in your case, one of their protected animals." chuckled Creed. Another rumble. "I have to give you props chere. Those moves of yours earlier was quite something." smirked Gambit. "Kill me now." groaned Rogue. Yet another rumble.

By now, everything was starting to realize something was going on. "What's that shaking?" asked Kitty. Another rumble and then another until they began to happen seconds apart. A nearby building cracks and collapses to the ground, a figure comes walking overtop of the wreckage.

Famine move forward, the symbols on his body and eyes glow bright green. With every footstep, the ground shakes but not from his weight. Rather he was releasing seismic energy just simply from walking. "Who is this guy?" groaned Rogue.

Magneto sends a magnetic blast at him but he is already weak and the blast has no effect. Famine extends his hands and suddenly, a earthquake starts that shakes the entire city. The ground beneath Magneto's feet explodes, sending his flying into the air. Cyclops fires a blast but the beam bounces off seemingly thin air a few inches from the target. Domino fires her twin machine pistols but the bullets bounce a few inches away as well. Famine continues to move forward, not slowing in the slightest. Creed leaps forward and is sent flying to the side, without touching his target.

"This guy's got some kind of invisible shield around him." growled Logan. Exodus and Jean lift Famine telekinetically into the air. He glances down at them with almost an annoyed look. He extends his hands and sends out powerful seismic waves.

Exodus puts up a shield in front of Jean but doesn't fare too well blocking the attack. His whole body shakes violently, cracking bones and ribs. The powerful telepath drops to the ground in pain. Famine lands on his feet and continues forward. "Great, another unstoppable enemy." moaned Kitty.

Famine has grown tired of the interference. He sends seismic tremor into the ground and the entire street begins to crack and reform. Pillars and pits form around within seconds. The entire landscape continuously changed. Pillars would try to impale anyone underneath and pits had compacting walls that would crush anything that fell in.

The only true safe haven in off the street in the alleys where everyone quickly takes refuge. Famine continues moving up the street, his target now clear to everyone else. The spiderstone key. "He's going after the key. Kurt, grab it quick." said Scott.

Kurt teleports next to the key, attempting to grab it. But within a micro-second, the rock beneath him rises up violently which hurls him away. Everyone tries to use a distance attack on him at once but it doesn't even slow him down.

Famine finally stands over his goal. The spiderstone rises up on a pillar, allowing the Horseman to grab it as arm's length reach. "NO!" yelled Magneto. He unleashed a magnetic blast but Famine forms a rock sphere around himself and sinks into the ground.

* * *

"For the last time Toad, stop buying me roses. I hate them." said Wanda as the Brotherhood were returning from a trip to the grocery store. "But I thought girls like roses." said Toad as the group all carried bags toward the house.

Wanda hexed Toad into the house wall. "That clear enough for you?" asked Wanda. "I thought her memory loss was supposed to make her more pleasant?" Kine whispered to Chris. "What was that?" yelled Wanda. "He said the sky is really pleasant." covered Chris, referring to the cloudless night sky.

The group approaches the front door and notice it was open. Everyone quickly set down their grocery bags and assemble around the door, ready to charge inside. They were going to give the intruder a pounding of a lifetime.

John kicked the door open and everyone rushed inside only to gasp instantly upon entry. Standing in the living room watching TV was Lance Alvers who leaped to his feet. "How many times do I have to tell you people not to scare me like that?" he yelled.

(Another evil cliffhanger. I know I said Lance would be out the rest of the season but an idea popped into my head and I couldn't resisted having it for my next chapter. I owe props to somebody. Lance traveling in a rock-made sphere was in a story written by Descendent. Also, the Horsemen idea was mostly influenced by Descendent's Brotherhood Evolution.)

(Next chapter: Lance is back but he's dead isn't he? While the Brotherhood are confused and celebrating, the X-Men and Acolytes find out. Also Sinister isn't happy and has the Marauders after Lance as well.)


	52. ResureXXection

HARDBOILED: Boy this chapter took a long time to write. My writing got much faster when Deadpool threatened to shikabob me.

DEADPOOL: Not my fault you take so long. Red Witch could write one of her 100 chapter fics in the time you take to do one chapter.

HARDBOILED: I've got two jobs and other thing to take care of before I work on my stories.

DEADPOOL: Don't be a pansy. Get back to work (draws swords).

HARDBOILED: Alright, please review folks so I can get this maniac off my back.

Everyone was absolutely silent, staring at Lance in complete shock. "Okay you guys are starting to creep me out." said Lance. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" Toad suddenly yelled out with joy. He leaped forward and tackled Lance off his feet. "You're alive! You're alive!" Toad kept yelling as he hugged Lance. "GET OFF ME! What is wrong with you?" yelled Alvers who shoved Toad away.

"You're alive!" yelled a happy Fred who grabbed Lance and hugged much harder then he should. "Can't…breath…" gasped Lance. "Oops, sorry." said Fred, setting Lance down. Then Pietro zipped up and punched Alvers right in the face.

"Wethoughtyouweredead. !" yelled Pietro very fast and very angry. John and Kine quickly restrained Pietro, preventing him from throwing another punch. "You were dead Lance. And last I checked, there hasn't been many resurrections lately so what gives?" demanded Chris.

"You thought I was dead? Are you all out of your mind?" asked a confused Lance. Wanda hexed Lance into the wall. "What was that for?" yelled Alvers as he got back to his feet. "Just making sure you weren't Mystique in disguise." said Wanda.

"Forget this. I've got a date with Kitty to see that new movie with Julia Roberts." grunted Lance who headed towards the door. "Wait a minute, the last one she did came out months ago Lance." Chris. Lance reached the door and noticed something was missing in the driveway.

"Hey! Where's my jeep!" he yelled. "In a junkyard. It went off the top of Lookout Point with you in it." said Toad. "So we were told." Kine said. Lance was just starting to realize that this wasn't a big practical joke.

"Okay Lance, maybe you should sit down." said Toad. "Why should he sit down? Is there something wrong with standing?" asked a confused Fred.

* * *

"How could this have happened?" yelled Sinister. All of his Marauders cringed, worried about what he might do next. Stryfe however remained silent and calm. "You're the one who installed the tech into his body. You tell me." shot back Mesmero.

"Clearly the tech hasn't assimilated his neural pathways yet. Was the key at least delivered to the door?" asked Sinister. "The second lock has been released. Only one more then the master can return. But if anyone finds Famine and studies his technology…" Mesmero said.

"That won't happen. Get suited up." Stryfe ordered the Marauders. He then turned to Sinister and Mesmero. "I'll take care of this problem myself." he continued.

* * *

The X-Men just returned to the Institute and being in a bad mood was putting it mildly. Now the team was getting bandaged up in the medical lab. "Ah can't believe Lorna is actually working for that magnetic creep." growled Rogue. "Yeah, after everything we've been through she like just kicked us to the curb." nodded Kitty.

"I don't think it's that simple." said Xavier. "What are you talking about Professor?" asked Scott. "It was something I sensed in Lorna's mind before they left. Something off." answered Charles. "Did Magneto do something to do her?" asked Jean. "Then we need to rescue her." said Kurt.

"Right now we need to…" Storm cut in before an alarm went off. "Please tell me we aren't being attacked now." groaned Kurt. Xavier quickly checked over a nearby console before his eyes widened. "This is impossible." he said.

"What is it?" asked Logan. "Cerebro just detected an archived mutant signature in the Brotherhood home." said Xavier. "So? Who cares if the Loserhood decides to use their powers." said Rogue. "It's detecting Lance Alvers." said Xavier.

"WHAT?" everybody yelled at once.

* * *

"HOW COULD YOU THINK I WAS DEAD?" yelled Lance, the whole house shaking from a tremor. "What were we supposed to think? That you got abducted by aliens who put a cloned body of yours in the jeep and shoved it off Lookout Point so no one would come looking for you and experiment on you all they want. Though in hindsight, seeing you standing here now makes that a little more plausible." said Pyro.

"What was the last thing you remember?" asked Wanda. "Making up with Kitty in our backyard after I killed my mother." said Lance. "Dude, she's not dead. She's like in limbo or something. She came back then went away again." said Chris.

"She's alive? Where is she?" demanded Lance. "I told you, she's in limbo. She used a tremor on herself and disappeared. Now since you did the same thing and she came back, I'm guessing the same thing will happen again eventually." replied Chris.

"So how long was I was gone?" asked Lance. "A month but that memory of yours seems to be off by several." said Pietro. "I've got to call Kitty." said Lance, heading towards a phone. Instantly every one of the male Brotherhood members grabbed him.

"Forget about her Lance." said John. "Yeah, that X-snob dumped you. Or did you dump her? I can't remember who dumped who." said a confused Fred.

* * *

Magneto wasn't happy and his Acolytes knew it. They stood outside the boss's room, hearing various smashing and yelling. When Magneto threw a temper tantrum, everybody knew it. Exodus was currently resting in the medical wing, recovering from various broken bones.

"He's been in there for ten minutes and still yelling. That's breaks the record for him." whispered Gambit.

"Is it just me or did that Egyptian super mutant have Lance Alver's powers?" asked Lorna. "No way, he's dead." said Domino. "And he wasn't much to begin with." commented Creed. "So how'd you feel fighting your old friends?" Blink asked Lorna.

"It's strange. I thought I'd feel something but I didn't feel anything at all." said Lorna. "Probably just the training kicking in. Not hesitating is a good thing." replied Blink. "I guess." shrugged Lorna.

A wall expanded into a massive hole as Magneto stepped out into the hallway. "I'm leaving." he said, walking by his followers without slowing down. "Where?" asked Colossus. "To visit some family." answered Magneto.

* * *

The rest of the Brotherhood was still arguing with Lance, trying to stop him from leaving. Meanwhile, Toad decided to grab as much party decorations he could find, hung them up, and started playing the Boys are Back in Town over their massive stereo system.

A few hours later everyone most went to bed except for Wanda, Lance, and Pietro. "So meet any girls?" Lance asked Pietro. "No." grunted Pietro. "Are you mad at me for something?" asked Lance. "No I…I need some air." said Pietro before zipping away.

"Am I missing something?" Lance asked Wanda. "Well you have to understand. My brother has never been good at loss. He grieved and was moving on and now you coming back just brings up all those emotions he's been hiding inside." said Wanda.

Meanwhile, Pietro was standing outside on the porch glancing up at the night sky. He never really was good at friendships or relationships. Probably something he learned from his good for nothing father. He was contemplating what to say to Lance when he went back inside when he felt a presence behind him.

He turned and floating in the air was his father. "How long have you known he was alive?" demanded Magneto. "A question I should be asking you Magneto." grunted Pietro, saying his last word with disgust. Suddenly, the front door came flying off its hinges and slammed Pietro into the wall pinning him. His old man must be able to manipulate the door via the new metal locks and hinges the Hood installed. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Magneto narrowed his eyes and the door pushed Pietro harder. "How long Pietro?" demanded Magneto. "For a couple of hours. How long have you known? Or were you responsible for what happened to him?" shot back Quicksilver. "No, that would be me." said a voice off the deck.

Before his father had time to react, Magneto was hit by some sort of invisible force that sent him hurling through the air and crashed through a wooden handrail. Pietro finally managed to shove the door off him. He was about to run back inside when some force caused him to float into the air and went flying head first into the roof. Pietro dropped to the ground unconscious as Stryfe headed inside.

"Hey Pietro, what's going on out there?" asked Wanda, hearing some kind of commotion outside. To her surprise, a man stepped into the living room. The same man she saw walk through that portal before she was taken over by Shadow King.

"You." she said. Before she could react, Wanda found herself completely paralyzed. "Hmm, maybe." said Stryfe before Wanda dropped to the ground unconscious. "Hey Wanda, what did you do with my guitar...Who are you?" Lance asked, walking in from the kitchen.

Lance started a tremor but suddenly found himself levitating into the air. Some force began to constrict around his neck as he gasped for air. "What's taking you so long? You should have changed already." said Stryfe.

A noise caught Stryfe's attention, he turned to see out a window a car flying in the air straight towards the house. The vehicle smashed through the wall and kept on coming. Stryfe tried to stop it but it was too late. The car slammed into him and carried him right through the wall and into the backyard.

In he didn't put up a telekinetic barrier at the last moment that would have really hurt. Stryfe groaned as he sent the car flying off him and got to his feet. Magneto floated through the hole in the wall, his eyes glaring at Stryfe.

"I don't know who you are but I assure you, I will know everything you know when I'm done with you." growled Magneto. He floated higher into the air and began summoning every metallic object in the house towards him. From simple jewelry to lamps, pipes, even support beams.

The guys were woken up by the violent shaking around them as the house was beginning to collapse. "What is going on?" yelled Kine. "Who cares? Let's bail!" yelled John. Fred quickly grabbed an unconscious Wanda and Lance then joined the others running or more stumbling out of the house.

Every piece of metal being pulled magnetically out the house took it's toll and the Boarding House collapsed into debris. Everyone stared in disbelief at the wreckage of their former house. "NOOOOO!" yelled Toad. "Our home." moaned John.

Meanwhile, Magneto finished assembling every piece of nearby metal into air circling around him. He sent several sharpened pieces of scrap metal hurling towards Stryfe who simply flew into the air to avoid them.

The telekinetic summoned several trees, ripping them out of the ground with his mind and sent them flying towards Magneto. The Master of Magnetism had all the metal floating around him form a barrier in front of him, blocking any of Stryfe's attacks.

"Uhh, should we do anything about this?" Fred asked. "Are you kidding me? Just one of those guys could probably waste us with ease." said Chris.

* * *

"This is so cool. I'm actually going on a mission." said a happy Bobby. Getting to go with the X-Men on a mission had the icy mutant cheering for joy as they were driving to the Brotherhood Boarding House. In the Van were Logan, Scott, Jean, Kurt, Bobby, and Amara. Storm was driving Xavier, Beast, and Kitty in the limousine.

"Just remember you're on probation popsicle. No showboating." said Logan. "Not to worry. I'm gonna freeze those losers." said Bobby. "For the last time Bobby, we're not going to fight." said Jean. "Yeah, we're not in any condition to fight anyways." said Rogue, rubbing her shoulder. It's been hurting since London.

"We're just going to talk, nothing more." said Scott. And that's all he got before the whole X-van started shaking violently. They all screamed as the vehicle flipped over and came to a rest off road.

* * *

Magneto's patience was quickly running out. He sent every metal around him speeding towards his attacker. Stryfe braced himself as a large metal mass came crashing down on him. Magneto floated down to the ground and with a thought lifts the metal into the air.

Stryfe is sprawled on the dirt, unconscious. Magneto sends the large metallic mass away and walks toward his quarry. Magnus grabbed the man and lifted up his unconscious body from the shirt. "You're not getting off that easy." growled Magneto.

Then Stryfe's eyes opened and smiled. Before Magneto had a chance to react, Stryfe sent out a powerful telekinetic blast. Magnus was hurled back and slammed hard into a stump of a tree. "Haven't you ever heard of possum before old man?" chuckled the telepath.

* * *

Wolverine was the first to get out of the overturned vehicle, kicking the driver door open. He got to his feet to see a group he remembered from months ago during the mission to find Vanessa. Sinister's goons.

"Our boss never really wanted us to fight you guys head on before. We always had bigger proprieties but things have changed." said Arclight. All the Marauders were smiling. To them, they have been truly unshackled for the first time against the X-Men. Scalphunter transformed his robotic arm into a rocket launcher and fired at the van.

Knowing the others wouldn't survive, Logan jumped in the missile's way and it detonated right in his face. He was hurled back with a sickening thud onto the road. Scalphunter loaded another missile and fired at the X-Van. The vehicle was destroyed in one hit.

"Talk about anti-climatic." muttered Scalphunter. "Turn around then." said a voice behind him. He turned just in time to see Cyclops firing an optic blast. The blast sent him screaming into the air. Kurt managed to teleport everyone inside the van before exploding and now the fight was on.

* * *

Xavier gasped, catching the others in the limousine by surprise. "What's wrong?" asked Beast. "The others…they're under attack." replied Xavier. Storm quickly pulled the car over, ready to turn around. "Go help the others, I'll go on ahead." said the Professor.

"Not a chance Professor. I'm staying." said Kitty in a firm tone. Xavier was about to argue but they didn't have the time. "Alright then." he said. Storm and Beast got out of the car and ran off. Kitty phased to the driver seat.

"I'll have us there in no time." said Kitty. "Oh dear." said Xavier as he realized having Kitty driving may not have been the brightest idea. He held on for dear life as Shadowcat raced down the street like a NASCAR driver.

* * *

Magneto crashed into another tree and fell to the ground. His opponent was extremely powerful, much more then he expected. Eric got to his feet as Styfe sent another telekinetic wave at him. This time Magnus was prepared. He put up an electromagnetic shield that protected him while the tree behind was ripped out of the ground from the force of the wave.

Magneto retaliated with an EM blast from his hands. The blast knocked Stryfe off his feet. The telepath retaliated by telekinetically ripping two trees out of the ground and hurled them towards his opponent. Magneto simply floated over the trunks as they got closer.

But while his attention was drawn towards the projectiles, he failed to see Stryfe launch himself off the ground towards him like a bullet. Stryfe tackled Magneto right in the air and the two began punching and kneeing each other as they twisted around upwards into the sky.

"Whoa, watching them is making me kinda dizzy." said Toad.

* * *

Bobby slide on an ice patch and froze George in place. Arclight responded by slamming his fist into the ground, sending seismic energy that shattered Iceman's slide and sending him crashing to the ground. Vertigo sent out psy energy that caused most of the X-Men to stumble and trip over their own feet.

Arclight charged his fist and punched George's frozen form, shattering the ice and freeing him. Kurt teleported behind Vertigo and delivered a spinning kick to her head, knocking her out. Without her down, the X-Men got back to their feet and pressed the attack.

Harpoon hurled energy spears at Jean who used her telekinesis to send them right back at him. He screamed as Jean pushed his telekinetically into a tree and his spears all hit various parts of his clothing, pinning him. "No fair." he grunted.

George stretched out his fists, increasing their size and launched them at Cyclops. He fired a blast that blew a hole in George's body but didn't slow the mutant down. His fists collided with Scott, knocking him down. Dazed, Summers lay motionless on the ground while George lifted his fists to hit him again.

Suddenly, his liquid body was lifted into the air. He turned to see Jean concentrating. Fighting back, he started spinning around with his fists stretching out. Jean didn't have the strength to keep George in the air and blocks his attacks. One of George's fists caught her in the leg and knocked her off her feet. Capitalizing on her mistake, George grabbed her face and his hand spread, encasing her entire head.

Jean struggled to breath while George stretched out his other fist to knock out Scott as he got to his feet. Jean let loose a telekinetic burst that knocked George back and flattened his body to the ground. Then she was hit from behind by a sonic burst from Ruckus.

Seeing his comrade free, Ruckus turned his attention back to Kurt. The elf constantly teleported away before Ruckus could hit him. "Stand still ya ugly fuzz…" Ruckus said before a freeze beam from Bobby sealed his mouth shut. Kurt kicked him from behind into an ice slide Bobby made. He slide down right into a large rock. Ruckus slumped while Bobby and Kurt high-fived.

* * *

Magneto and Stryfe continued struggling in the air, both trying to overpower the other both physically and with their powers. Stryfe's telekinesis was pushing against Magneto's magnetic powers. Finally, Magneto managed to land a blow to the face that stunned Stryfe temporarily enough for him to sent out an electromagnetic blast.

Stryfe comes crashing back down to Earth and Magneto follows him. He lands on his feet ands grabs the fallen telepath. "Where is Mesmero? Where is Apocalypse?" yelled Magneto. Suddenly, Stryfe opened his eyes and sent a telekinetic blast that knocked Magneto's helmet off.

"No!" yelled Magnus. Before he had time to react, his helmet seemingly melted into the ground. Stryfe's laugh echoed unnaturally. The telepath got to his feet and before his eyes, transformed into someone from Magneto's past.

"NO! This isn't real!" screamed Magnus but his knees began shaking. Stryfe had turned into an SS officer who was in charge of the concentration camp Magneto was held in as a boy. The inmates there called him the Butcher and he was the one who personally Magneto's father while his mother and son were forced to watch. The woods shifted and were replaced by a massive graveyard filled with Jews digging holes overseen by the Nazis.

"Get back to work!" he yelled as Eric and his mother were being forced to dig graves for the bodies that just came from gas chambers. They knew they had to work hard or they would be the next ones going in. The Butcher kicked Eric in the face, knocking him down into the pit filled littered with bodies.

His mother screamed back and that got her a gunshot in the head. The Butcher walked away while Eric scrambled out of the grave and to his mother's body. He screamed as he held her body. Eric glanced back at the Nazi officer walking away by the nearby electric fence. Thoughts of revenge and pain went through his head and then something happened. The Butcher stumbled to the side, clenching his belt. Eric concentrated again and the Nazi stumbled again, trying to get his Lugar pistol out of his belt. Eric concentrated again and this time, the Butcher stumbled right into the electric fence. He screamed as his body ignited into flames. That was the first time he used his power.

But something happened, something completely different. The Nazi got back to his feet and turned back to Eric. Most of his entire body was scorched black and half of his face was burned right off, showing his skull. "So this was when that anger of yours was born." he said with Styfe's voice.

"No." moaned Eric, walking backwards as the Butcher drew closer. "It started small, directed towards that human. But when you killed him it brought no real comfort. It only fed your anger. After the war was over and you were freed, that anger was then directed towards the Allies and then all of humanity. That anger is all you took with you from this place except one other thing." laughed the Butcher.

Eric backed into two Nazi officers who grabbed him by the arms. "One thing you never got over. One fear that still haunts you to the soul. Take him to the gas chamber." said the Butcher. "NOOOOOOO!" yelled Eric as the Nazis dragged him away.

* * *

Rogue jumped back to avoid a punch from Blockbuster. The massive young man had a clear size advantage over her and the rest of the X-Men were busy to help. She removed her gloves and managed to grab his forearm as he threw another punch. But her grasp gave the opportunity for Blockbuster to punch Rogue.

He then walked over and ribbed a tree out of the ground. "Go back to the kitchen." he said before swinging it at her. But to her surprise, she caught it and pulled him forward into a punch. Her new added strength made each of her punch feel like getting hit by a sledgehammer. He swung a punch and missed, only to get kicked in-between the legs. His eyes widened and a loud scream came out of his mouth.

"BACK TO THE KITCHEN? TAKE THIS YA STEROID PUMPING SEXIST!" yelled an angry Rogue who punched him again and again and again until he finally dropped to the ground motionless.

George was running away from Bobby who was chasing him on an ice slide. "Come back here ugly." said Bobby, missing with yet another ice beam. "Bobby look out!" yelled Rogue. Bobby turned to see an incoming missile from Scalphunter. He put up a large ice shield that the missile detonated on. The blast shattered the shield and the ice covering his body as he went flying to the ground.

Scalp then turned his attention to Rogue. He changed his missile cannon to a chain gun and fired away at her. Rogue's strength gave her protection as the bullets bounced off her skin but they still hurt. She made her way slowly towards Scalp, fighting back against the bullet's kinetic force. Scalp then changed his other cannon to a launcher and prepared fire a grenade in Rogue's face. But a crack of thunder caught his attention and he turned just in time to see a bolt of lightning racing towards him. The bolt hit him and his exoskeleton short circuited. He screamed before another bolt sent him flying.

Storm then turned her attention towards George and swept him up in a whirlwind. Ruckus got back to his feet and noticed Storm wasn't paying attention to him. He took in a deep breath, ready to blast her when a large fury hand covered his mouth. "Stick and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." said Beast before punching him.

Arclight found himself completely alone as he was surrounded by Storm, Beast, Rogue, Kurt, a recovering Scott and Jean, and a scared Wolverine. "It's so hard to find good help these days." groaned Arclight, charging up. "I wouldn't try that if I were you." said Wolverine, putting his adamantium claws up to Arclight's neck.

Suddenly, Logan floated into the air and found himself hurling towards Storm, knocking them both out. The X-Men turned to see a face they didn't expect to see. Vanessa Marshall. "Keep your hands off him." she growled. She had some sort of device on the back of her neck.

"Vanessa? What are you…?" Jean said before Vanessa fired optic blasts from her eyes, knocking her and Scott down. Kurt teleported behind her and grabbed her. "Calm down, vhe're not your enemy." he said. With a thought, Kurt was hurled away telekinetically.

"Ah thought she needed to shape shift to use somebody else's powers." said Rogue. "That device must allow to use them all. We've got to…" Beast said before Vanessa shot bolts of electricity out of her hands. The bolts knocked out Beast but Rogue managed to resist with her stolen power.

"You okay babe?" Vanessa asked Arclight. "I'll live but they won't." he grunted.

* * *

Eric was hurled into the chamber and the door slammed shut behind him. Slowly, the room began to fill up with gas. He kicked and punched the door, desperately trying to get out. "Go ahead and struggle little boy, it will make this whole event much more enjoyable." laughed Stryfe.

Suddenly, the whole chamber shattered like glass and Eric's body began to age quickly back to his normal. The whole concentration camp disappeared as well except for the Butcher who changed to Stryfe. "WHAT?" yelled Stryfe.

"You dare to make him relive trauma that no mutant or human ever deserves to go through." said a familiar voice. Walking onto the empty plains was Charles Xavier. "Be gone old man." said Stryfe, ready to fight. "It's not me you should be worried about." said Xavier.

Then Magneto opened his eyes and found himself back in the woods and in his body. Charles must have broken him free of Stryfe's illusion. Magneto roared with anger as his eyes locked onto his opponent and sent the most powerful electromagnetic blast he's ever done. Stryfe's telekinetic shield offers no protection as he is hurled away and crashes through several branches and crashes violently into a tree stump. He lay motionless and this time, he wasn't playing possum.

"Holy crap." commented Chris. Lance groaned and got to his feet. "LANCE!" he heard Kitty's voice. He turned and saw her. She ran up and hugged him. "Hey, get lost yo." Toad said before Fred covered his mouth.

"Lance, I can't believe it. I thought you were actually gone." said Kitty. "Well I…" Lance started to say before he got a headache. A really bad headache. He groaned, his hands clenching his temple. "Lance? What's wrong?" Kitty asked.

Lance screamed as suddenly metal began to grow on his body. Everyone could only watch in horror as Lance was transforming right before their very eyes. Kitty gasped when the changing was finished. He changed into that mega mutant the X-Men and Acolytes fought in London. "I am Famine and I serve the will of Apocalypse." it said.

The ground began to shake as everyone backed away from him. A sphere composed of dirt and rock formed around him and sank into the Earth. "No, Lance come back!" screamed Kitty but Lance was long gone. "What just happened?" yelled John.

* * *

"Famine is back online, return to base at once." ordered Sinister over the radio. "You heard him love. Let's bail." said Arclight. Vanessa summoned a fog that blinded everyone. "Vanessa wait!" yelled Rogue. Storm dispersed the fog and the Marauders were gone.

"C'mon, they can't have gotten far." said Rogue. "No Rogue. Let them go." said Storm. "She's right stripe. We've still got to get to the Brotherhood's house." said Logan.

Magneto got back to his feet as Charles Xavier rolled his wheelchair up to him. "Thank you Charles." Magnus said, summoning his helmet back onto his head. Charles felt the thoughts of his X-Men and let them know to return to the mansion. Lance was gone and was the telepath. Sinister's goons as well.

"Eric, we can't fight anymore. This proves that Mesmero and Nathaniel Essex are working together. As you just found out, they had very formidable mutants aiding them and alone neither of our teams can defeat them." said Xavier.

"If it's a truce you want then so be it. My soldiers will not attack yours unless provoked. But I fear you won't be able to do what is necessary to win this war Charles. For that is exactly what this is. Apocalpyse is coming and I will do whatever it takes to stop him, no matter the cost." said Magneto before floating away.

(Next chapter, you'll never believe what the Brotherhood is doing with their spare time. Ghost hunting in their new mansion. While the Hood drive themselves insane, something very creepy is haunting their new home)


	53. Raven Manor

**Two weeks ago**

Franklin Abbot nearly tripped as he dashed down the stairway. He glanced behind him and there it was again. It wasn't running and yet it seemed to get closer no matter how fast he ran. He slammed into the dual front doors, his arms shaking as he tried to grab the handle.

The shadow continued walking towards him, not making a sound as it descended the stairs. Several nearby lights began to flicker as it strolled by. Finally Franklin managed to turn the knob and rushed outside, slamming the door behind him. He pulled out his keys as he ran to his car. The shadow walked through the door like a ghost, not breaking its stride in the slightest.

His shaking hands had difficulty unlocking the door. Then the car alarm came on, the vehicle's lights flickering as the horn become a quiet humming like sound. He jumped inside but the shadow was nearly upon him. It reached out its hand, the transparent black hand phased right through the window.

Franklin scrambled to the other side and opened the passenger door. The shadow passed into the car, the vehicle's power now gone. Abbott ran towards the front gate, a long distance away but it was his only chance. A bolt of electricity shot past him and impacted a nearby tree. It fell to the ground, its base on fire.

Abbott turned around to see the shadow was still chasing him. Small streaks of energy coursed through its body, converging on its chest. They combined into round bright sphere. A bolt of electricity shot out of it. Franklin jumped out of the way, nearly getting hit. He scrambled back to his feet and made a mad dash into the woods.

He glanced back to see the figure was gone. About to breathe a sigh of relief, he turned forward and gasped. The nearby cliff was much closer then he anticipated. He stopped just as he reached the edge, several rocks falling into the ocean below. A sound caught his attention as he turned around once again to see the shadow standing mere inches away.

A bolt of electricity hit Franklin in the chest, sending him screaming to the cascading waves below. He made a loud splash as his body hit the water, disappearing from sight. After a few moments, Franklin's body floated back to the surface. Face down and not moving, lifeless. The shadow stared at the body before a bolt of lightning came from above and hit it's own body, disappearing in a flash of light.

**Present Day**

"Aww man, your dad really sucks yo." grumbled Toad as he searched through the wreckage of the former Brotherhood Boarding House. With a grunt, he tossed it aside. All the Hood members were salvaging what they could from their former home.

"Hey, at least father was trying to fight that guy. Which is more then I can say for the rest of you." said Wanda, using her powers to move various debris. "What exactly were we supposed to do? That guy was fighting your father head on. That's something even the geek squad can't do." responded Kine.

"I hope Pietro's found a good hotel because I am not taking Xavier up on his offer." said Chris. He offered to put up the Hood for the night but they weren't interested. All they wanted to know was what happened to Lance and how to possibly get him back. After that brief conversation, the Hood tried to fight anything useful while Pietro ran off to reserve some hotel rooms for them.

"HAHA! Paydirt!" yelled Chris, pulling his camera out of the wreckage. "It's still in one piece?" said a disbelieving John. "Yeah, it still works too." Chris said cheerfully. "Gee, you'd think that guy just saved his one true love." Toad whispered to Fred.

Kine moved away from the others and started digging next to a tree in the backyard, eventually uncovering a suitcase. Specifically, the one with all the bearer bonds. "Careful with that." said Wanda. "Yes mom." Kine whispered underneath his breath. "Hate to be blunt fellas but I don't think we're going to be getting much more out of this." said John, indicating the wreckage.

Pietro zipped up. "Alrighty folks. We've got rooms at the Huntington Hotel. They're not happy about having mutants but since nobody goes there anyways, they'll happily take our money." said Pietro.

"Alright, Pietro you're running there. We'll make two trips to the hotel. One with Blob and one with the rest of us." said Wanda.

* * *

At the hotel, everyone got comfortable rather quickly. Chris and Kine took one room, John and Pietro another, Fred and Toad a third, and Wanda taking a whole room by herself. The others didn't want to share a room with her except Toad and Wanda threatened to stake his tongue if he tried.

* * *

"_Let me out." came a gentle whisper. She glanced around but there was nothing but darkness. Then a rumble behind her, the sound of something hitting bricks. She turned around to see a massive twenty foot tall brick wall that seemed to extend forever in both directions._

_A crack formed in the center, another impact from the other side increased its size. Then another and then another. "I want out Marie. Let me out." said the voice again, this time more frustrated. Another impact enlarged the crack. "You can't keep me in here forever Marie. I won't let you keep me locked away any longer." the voice said with anger. A wave of terror filled her as the crack began to expand even further._

Rogue's eyes shot open as she caught her breath. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the whole thing was just a dream. It was still dark and her roommate Kitty was still asleep. Rogue glanced at her clock which read 3:28 AM. She groaned as she leaned her head back against her pillow, hoping to get a few hours of sleep. But she doubted that would happen.

* * *

The next morning, everyone except for Pietro was eating in the hotel lobby. Fred was scarfing down virtually everything in sight, giving the hotel staff a heart attack. "I'm still hungry. Excuse me guys, I'm going to see if they've got anything else in the kitchen." said Fred.

"That's what they get for having an all you can eat breakfast." snickered Chris. "Guys, I've gone it!" yelled Pietro, zipping in. "Found a brain cell you can use?" chuckled Toad. "A girl that will actually want to date you?" laughed Kine. "Like any of those will ever happen." said Wanda, rolling her eyes.

"Hahahaha, very funny." said Pietro, not amused. "Actually, I've found the solution to our current residence problem." he continued, holding up a newspaper. He pointed to a section that read **Raven Manor now for sale.**

"What? You want us to live in Bayville's haunted mansion? Are you out of you're mind?" yelled Toad. "Yeah, haunted mansions are never a good thing." agreed John. "Get serious you idiots, there are no such thing as ghosts." said Kine. "But paranormal investigators have gone to that place for years and always concluded that the place was haunted." said Toad. "Yeah but they've never proven a thing. Remember that most people thought the Earth was flat at one point. Just because a bunch of people believe in something doesn't means it's true." shot back Chris.

"Time out. What's Raven Manor?" asked Wanda. "It's about a ten minute drive from the X-Geek place. The building is a little bigger then theirs but not as much property around it. It was built around 1904 and it's changed hands several times. The latest owner had it as his summer home but wanted to get rid of it after his caretaker got blasted by a lightning bolt and took a header off a cliff." answered Pietro.

"The ghosts killed him?" gulped Toad. "Unless one of the ghosts is Storm I highly doubt that." groaned Chris. "But what about those accounts of all those strange events that happen there?" asked John. "Second hand accounts from unreliable sources without a shred of evidence. That's the same story for every supposed haunting." said Kine.

Wanda sighed as everybody started yelling at each other. She also heard yelling from the kitchen, mostly screaming from various hotel staff trying to stop Fred from eating everything in their freezer. "Something tells me the hotel manager isn't going to accept our money anymore. We might as well check this place out." said Wanda. Fred stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a massive handful of various foods and deserts. "Okay guys, I've got enough for my morning snack." he said.

* * *

Rogue ducked, avoiding yet another blow then quickly jumped backwards to avoid a spinning kick. Normally, Rogue would be the one on the offensive but today Sarah Vale was the one dishing out the punishment. For some reason, she just couldn't get that dream out of her head.

Rogue shot forward and paid the price when Sarah caught her in a Judo over the hip take down. "Well this is a first. It should be me on the ground not you." said Vale. "Ah didn't get much sleep last night." muttered Rogue as she got to her feet. Every morning, Sarah and Rogue would practice martial arts in the ballroom.

Sarah shot her a look. "Sleep's got nothing to do with this." she said, taking a defensive stance. "Ya'll callin me a liar." growled Rogue. "No, just not telling the whole truth." replied Sarah. She lunged forward and did a spinning kick that Rogue managed to avoid. Unfortunately, Rogue underestimated how close Sarah was and how quickly she spun around again for a leg trip. The sweep knocked Rogue off her feet.

"You're the one that taught that move to me. What is really going on?" asked Sarah, helping Rogue bad to her feet. "Nothin. Just some weird dream." answered Rogue. "Must have been some dream to knock you off your game this bad." said Sarah before looking at the clock.

"C'mon, we've gotta get ready for school." said Sarah, heading out the door. Rogue started to follow when pain shot through her head. She leaned against a wall to keep her balance as wave of images flashed before her eyes. Anger rose inside of her as she punched the wall in frustration.

Her fist went right through, as if the wall was made of paper. Rogue pulled her hand out and realized it wasn't damaged. The headache and anger went away just as fast as they came, leaving Rogue wondering just what happened and why the image of Blob went through her head before she put that hole in the wall.

* * *

When the Hood (minus Pietro) pulled up to Raven Manor, their jaws dropped. The whole place was like something out of a Stephen King or Ann Rice novel. It was a three story Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion. "Okay, we've seen it now let's go." said Toad, turning around before Fred grabbed him.

"No no no. Don't make me go in there!" Toad pleaded as Fred carried him past the old steel front gates with the others. Woods covered the area around the building except the driveway. It made the whole thing seem a little creepier.

"Edgar Allen Poe eat your heart out." muttered John as they got closer. The driveway went into a complete circle in front of the mansion similar to the Xavier Institute. Only instead of a fountain the pavement surrounded a large gargoyle statue. The house itself has no sign of aging or wear down, the owner at least kept the outside looking good.

Parked in front of the house was a new Sedan where a thirtysh woman waited in business attire. "That's the real estate agent. Play it nice and don't act completely stupid." said Wanda. "No, I'm not going in there!" yelled Toad, useless trying to get out of Fred's grasp.

"You must be the Brotherhood. Tessa Fox, I work for Donald Pierce." the agent introduced herself. "As in the billionaire owner of Pierce Industries? Why does one of the richest men in the country have a place in Bayville?" asked Kine.

"Let's just say he took an interest in the area at one point but that time has come and gone." explained Tessa. "In other words, he saw Bayville for the dump it was and did the smartest thing possible." Chris muttered underneath his breath.

"Could we explore the place on our own if it's alright?" asked Wanda. "Certainly, just let me know if you need anything." nodded the agent.

The hood walked inside to a massive foyer with a large set of stairs and more gargoyle statues all around. "Seriously, what was the builder's obsession with those things?" asked John, staring at the statues.

"I like 'em." said Wanda. "Me too. I've always loved gargoyles. The Gargolyes cartoon series was also my favorite tv show." said Toad, brown nosing the best way that he could. Wanda moaned.

"I'm checking the kitchen." said Fred, leaving the others. "He was right about that Gargoyles show, it was an awesome cartoon." said Kine as he and Chris headed upstairs. Wanda walked off and Toad followed her, leaving just John alone.

He stared at a particular statue that gave him the creeps. The dead eyes with the evil smile gave him goose bumps. "BOOO!" yelled a voice behind John. Pyro screamed and tripped to the ground. Pietro busted up laughing behind him. "MAXIMOFF!" screamed John. Quicksilver quickly bolted from the room with Pyro in hot pursuit of him.

* * *

Fred found the kitchen and his jaw dropped. The room was enormous and there was actual food still around. Only enough to last everyone a few days or in Fred's case one day but still it was great. Blob licked his lips and prepared to make himself a snack. He didn't notice a human shaped shadow moving along the wall behind him.

* * *

Wanda walked down a narrow hallway filled with various pictures, all looked very old and very expensive. "Wow, these must be all originals." she said. Toad hopped in behind her and glanced at them. "So how much you think we could sell them for?" he asked.

"Maybe a couple…Wait a minute, we can't sell what isn't ours." said Wanda. "Sure we can. I know a great place where we could fetch a fine price…" Toad explained before Wanda smacked him in the back of the head.

"We don't own the place, at least not yet. And even then, we're not getting rid of them. I kinda like them." said Wanda. Toad's eyes lite up. "Of course we can't get rid of them. I really like them too. I'm a huge fan of the artists as well." Toad said, looking closer at one of the pictures.

"Du…Dus…Dutch? I mean Dusch Vulbrand is clearly a master of paintbrush strokes." said Toad. Wanda rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Toad still talking out loud. "What he painted is very broad for interpretation. What seem like a circle to some might look like a…" Toad continued, trying to sound intelligent as possible before he noticed Wanda was gone.

"Wanda? Sweetums?" he called out, getting nervous being alone. He glanced around then heard boards creaking behind him, the sound of someone stepping closer. He turned around and saw two figures covered in bed sheets. They just stood there, silent and motionless.

"Come play with us Todd. Come play with us forever and ever." they both said in feminine tones. Toad screamed and hopped away as fast as he could. As soon as he was gone, Kine and Terrance both removed their disguises and busted up laughing. "All bugs and no brain makes Toad a gullible boy." chuckled Chris.

* * *

"COME OUT MAXIMOFF AND DIE LIKE A MAN!" yelled John as he ran into the kitchen. The yelling startled Fred who jumped, nearly choking on his ham sandwich. "Geez Pyro, you nearly gave me a heart attack." said Fred. "HELP!" screamed Toad who hopped in the room and tackled John off his feet.

"Don't let them take me!" he pleaded, holding on as John struggled to shove him away. "Get off me bog breath!" yelled John. Suddenly, the two were hexed apart as Wanda stepped inside. "Will you two idiots please not wrecked somebody else's extremely expensive house?" she growled. Pietro zipped in. "Hello guys." he said before John tackled him. The two exchanged blows before Wanda hexed them apart.

"Could everyone please use whatever brain cells you have for the next few minutes and not make me play babysitter with all of you." said Wanda. "You should be grateful hot head. I talked with a very friendly Russian banker and we'll be able to convert some of those bonds into cash and put them into several bank accounts." said Pietro.

"And by friendly Russian banker, you mean money launder." grunted John. "That's racism. Just because a banker is Russian doesn't he does anything illegal." shot back Pietro. "In other words, he is." said John. "That's beside the point." grunted Pietro.

"Shut up you two. Now Toad, you were screaming that someone was going to take you earlier. What did you mean by that?" asked Wanda. "The two ghosts will get me. They said come play with us forever and forever." whimpered Toad. John, Pietro, and Fred all chuckled under their breath.

"Did they have bed sheets over them?" asked Wanda, though she already knew the answer. "Yeah, how did you know that?" asked Toad. "Come play with us Tolensky. Come with play us." echoed the feminine voices from before.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Toad who instantly leaped behind Fred. Chris and Kine walked into the room laughing hysterically. The rest of the hood except Wanda and Toad joined in. "Here's Toady." laughed Fred.

"That's not funny guys." growled Toad. "Newsflash, yes it is." chuckled Pietro. "We personally love the joint. Finally we'll be living in a house that at least rivals those Xavier goons." said Kine. Chris nodded in agreement.

"Me too." said Fred. "Fred, you've only seen the kitchen." pointed out John. "That's all I need to see." replied Blob. "This place will suffice for my needs." said Pietro. "This place gives me the creeps. Let's split yo." said Toad.

"Okay, if you want us to stay raise your hand." said Wanda. Wanda, Pietro, Fred, Chris, and Kine raise their hand. "I love democracy." smiled Kine. John and Toad moaned.

* * *

"We'll take it. How much for it?" Wanda told Tessa. "The asking price is thirty million." the woman replied. "We'll take it." said Wanda. Tessa smiled. "Excellent, the estate is yours then." she said. "Wait a minute, don't you want to wait until you've gotten your money or moved his things out?" asked Wanda.

"Mr. Pierce doesn't care about anything in the manor. They're all yours for the keeping. Until the transfer is complete, consider yourself guests and make yourself at home. I'm also not trying to scam any of you if that's what you're thinking. I'll sigh whatever contract you need to prove that the building is solid condition." explained Tessa.

"Well…alright then." said Wanda, still confused. "A pleasure doing business with you Miss Maximoff. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to a meeting. Good day." Tessa said before getting into her car and driving off.

Once she gotten onto the exit road, Tessa pulled out her cell phone and hit the speed dial. "Yes put me through to Mr. Shaw…Yes sir, they've agreed to take the estate…Wanda Maximoff was a little suspicious but hardly reason for concern…No they haven't a clue…If they do manage to survive what awaits them there, they will be more then worthy enough to join the Hellions sir."

(Okay they haven't gotten to hunting ghosts yet but I'll save that for next time. Also, I was originally going to have Self Possessed be separate from this but I was tired of putting it off and I wanted an excuse to keep the Brotherhood busy and not help the X-Men for the thirtieth billion time. Next chapter, a second personality inside Rogue's head with all the powers of those she touches breaks free and goes on a rampage. The Hood have their own problems when the so called haunting stories of their new home start to come true.)


	54. Haunted

(Wow, I can't believe I managed to crank almost all of this out in one day. For those of you who didn't catch it last chapter, Tessa Fox is Sage. Please review and enjoy.)

A few days passed without incident for Rogue. No strange dreams or sudden super strength but something did feel wrong to her. Like something was chipping away inside of her head and no painkillers she took made it go away. Despite her headache, Rogue decided to go to school. She figured she could handle it just like she handled all the dirty looks, insults, and threats. Random thoughts and images continued to inject themselves into her mind, making it hard to concentrate on her first two classes.

She was on here way to her next class when a sudden burst of images and pain filled her head. A loud voice seemed to yell inside her head. _Let me out_! Rogue stumbled towards the women's bathroom and nearly tripped into the door before the image of Kitty flashed before her eyes.

Instead of pushing the door open, she walked right through it. Rogue gasped, glad that the only person inside the room didn't see that. And much to her surprise, that person was Risty Wilde. "Rogue, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." said Risty. "Risty? Where have ya'll been? You just completely disappeared." said Rogue. "Stuck in England. My parents wouldn't let me come back here with all the…" sighed Risty before noticing Rogue's guilty look.

"…You know fuss and everything. I finally talked them into it." Risty quickly added, trying not to put the blame on Rogue. _At least she doesn't hate me_ thought Rogue. The two walked outside to a lunch table, thankfully no one else was around.

"Rogue I am so sorry I wasn't here for you." said Risty. "If anybody should apologize it's me. You're one of my best friends and ah was hiding who ah really was from you." said Rogue. She groaned as another burst of thoughts and images with Storm filled her head. The sky darkened above her as storm clouds formed. Lightning streaked across the sky followed by earth shaking thunder. Rogue struggled to regain her mind. Then the thoughts and images were gone, along with the storm clouds.

"Are you okay Rogue? Is that your power? Controlling weather? Because I think that's awesome." said Risty. "No, that's not me or at least it shouldn't be me." said Rogue, confused. She took off her right hand glove. "If I were to touch you right now, I'd probably put you in a coma. Your life force, your memories, everything about you would all flow into me." explained Rogue.

"That's…freaky. Well that would explain why you're always dressed up all the time." said Risty. "Yeah but the weird thing is that it's like all the people I've touched stay inside me. At first it wasn't so hard to deal with. The occasional nightmares and déjà vu. But now it's like there's only one voice in my head now. It's strong Risty and I think it wants out." said Rogue. "Maybe you just need to relax a little. You know, take some time off. Tell you what, I've got two tickets to the Stone Ciphers concert tonight." Risty said. Rogue smiled. "Sure. I've kinda having you around."

* * *

"Storm, I thought there were supposed to be clear skies today." said Xavier, rolling up to Monroe in her garden. "That wasn't me Charles." she replied. Charles frowned as he wondered if this was from a new mutant or one they already know.

* * *

"I love myself and I cannot lie. You other brothers can't deny. When I walk inside the room you get jealous. Just go ahead and give it up fellas. When it comes to the woman you're a bust cause you're eating nothing but my dust." sang Pietro from the shower. Toad groaned, he hated that song long before Pietro sang it at least four to five times a day. Thankfully, their new home had more six bathrooms and each one had a shower. So instead of sitting around listening to the American Idol reject, Toad moved on. He reached another one only to see Fred walk into that one. No one's going to want to go in that one for the next few hours. Finally, he reached one empty and shut the door behind him. He was about to take a shower as part of his steps to better himself to impress Wanda when the lights flickered. "Stupid wiring." grumbled Toad. Then he noticed something in the mirror. A dark shape began to form in the mirror. The shape oddly enough seemed to resemble a humanoid form.

One of it's arms began to lift itself off the wall, no longer a 2D shadow but now a three dimensional dark translucent shape. The rest of the shape moved off the wall, now standing before Toad. It reached towards him and Toad screamed bloody murder. He leaped at the door, hitting it so hard the door was knocked off it's hinges. He leaped like a madman down the hallway, screaming at the top of his lungs. "HELP ME! HELP!"

* * *

"I swear I saw something moving in the study hall last night." said John eating breakfast in the kitchen. While the dinning room had a massive table that could chair thirty people, John preferred to not be alone in the house and Freddy was the only person nearby. This place gave him the creeps.

"You actually read?" asked Fred, flipping pancakes at one of several stoves. "Yes Freddy, I like to read. I was thinking about maybe writing actually. It would at least give me something to do around here." replied John. "Write what?" asked Fred.

"A novel probably, maybe something about…" John explained before the sound of screaming caught his attention. Toad leaped into the room like a bat out of hell and tackled John out of his seat. "HELP ME!" Toad screamed. "Not again." groaned John, trying to shove Todd away from him.

Soon all of the Hood members ran into the kitchen and Kine used his power to force Toad to remain perfectly still. "Seriously, stop hugging anytime you get scared. It's just plain wrong." growled John. "What happened?" asked Wanda. "I saw a ghost and it tried to get me." said Toad, still paralyzed from the neck down. Wanda glared at Chris and Kine then all the plates in the room floated into the air. "Hey! It wasn't us this time, we swear." said Chris, both him and Kine holding up their hands.

"The little tadpole probably just jumped as the sight of his own shadow again." muttered an uninterested Pietro. "No, it was a Shadow Man. They're a type of ghost that takes the form of a humanoid shaped shadow." shot back Toad. "Toad, you really need to stop watching Ghost Hunters." groaned Kine.

"No Toad has a point. I've been reading up about this place and apparently, the former housekeeper reported numerous sightings of a dark translucent shadow person. He called several paranormal investigators but they found nothing. Also, he reported that electrical equipment seemed to flicker or malfunction whenever the shadow was near." said John.

"This place is really haunted? Cool." said Fred. "Oh for crying out loud. Not you too." groaned Chris. "Whatever." said a bored Pietro, zipping away. Wanda left as well along with Kine.

"You know what this means right?" asked John. "You're all idiots." quipped Chris. "No, we're going ghost hunting." said John. Toad and Fred cheered while Chris moaned. "Great. A bunch of hyperactive teenagers with superhuman abilities searching for invisible spirits in a big house. This has to be the biggest recipe for disaster I've ever seen." he added.

* * *

"I cannot believe you convinced me to do this." groaned Chris behind the camera, recording John, Toad, and Blob all dressed like the Ghostbusters. They had vacuum backpacks on except Toad who had a strange weapon-shaped device.

"G'day internet bloggers. We here at the Brotherhood believe we are living in a home haunted by a ghost. Is this a spectral be a former tenant of this old house? Somebody would suffered such a terrible event that they are unable to advance into what comes next." said John. "That has got to be the cheesiest speech I've ever head." moaned Chris. "Hey, you're job is to watch and record. So do your job and zip lit little man." said Fred. Chris muttered something that will no doubt be edited out in post production. Now it was Toad's turn to talk. "While my two colleagues will be using vacuums to capture the ghost, I will be using this nifty gizmo I bought on EBay."

"Just what exactly is that thing anyways?" asked Chris. "Ladies and gentleman, I give you the EM Scrambler. You see since ghosts are made up of electromagnetic energy, we use this to weaken them so my buddies can use the vacuums to suck it's weakened form." said Toad. "You're going to use vacuums to capture and entrap a noncorporeal entity capable of going through walls? Yeah, I see the logic in that or lack of in this case." quipped Chris. "Hey, you don't get a voice in this argument. You're just the cameraman, we're the stars mate." snapped John.

"Yeah, I can already pictures the credits before this disaster starts. How Not To Go Ghost Hunting starring three idiots that think they're ghost hunters and…wait a minute, Toad how the heck did you get an EM Scrambler? I mean I saw that thing on Future Weapons once." said Chris.

"I told you, on EBay. I could have gotten this with a discount if I bought a Russian MiG fighter along with it." replied Toad. "Well folks, hopefully my friends will find this ghost before the ATF busts down our door." groaned Chris. "Why would they do that? We have second Amendment rights." added Fred as the three walked down the hallway, Chris following and recording them. "Yeah Freddy but that doesn't mean I can go and buy a missile launcher." said Chris. "You didn't seem too eager to keep any of the ones that Deadpool guy left behind during Christmas." pointed out Fred. "Quit the chatter you two. I think I hear something up ahead." said John.

The three creep slowly up to a room where movement could be heard inside. "Uh guys…" said a worried Chris. "No time to talk mate. Toad, bust in and get 'em." said John. Chris turned and bolted down the hall. The sound of the door getting kicked in along with screaming echoed past him. "Uhh, hi sweetums." said a scared Toad. That was accompanied by a series of screams and explosions.

The camera cuts to John, Toad, and Fred all sitting in the kitchen with various bruises and bandages on them. "And the morale of this story folks is to never break into Wanda's room." said Chris. "You could have warned us." groaned John. "I figured you guys deserve whatever comes to you if you can't remember where Wanda's room is." replied John. "This place is so big, it's get confusing sometimes." said Fred. "Never mind that. There's still a ghost out there and we're going to take it out." said John. "Yeah." agreed Toad and Fred. They gathered their equipment and marched off. "And we're off to the next disaster." chuckled Chris, following them.

They head to the basement, something even Wanda's hasn't done. Everybody found it to be too creepy. The lighting was screwed up so the guys had to use flashlights to see anything. "We should have gone down here first. If I were a ghost, this is where I'd be hiding yo." said Toad.

"Wait! I think I saw something over there." said John, pointing his flashlight towards a doorway. "Quick Toad, use that gizmo of yours." said Fred. Toad pulled the trigger and seemingly nothing happened. "Can you get a refund for that thing?" asked Chris. "Hey, what's wrong with the TV?" yelled Pietro one story above them.

"No time to wait. Quick, let's get him." said John. Pyro and Blob busted into the room and found something move, a bat. "Well…you were right about seeing something." pointed out Fred. John growled and turned on his vacuum. "Come here ya flying rodent." said John, trying to suck the bat up with his vac pack. Fred thought it looked fun and decided to do the same.

The two laughed as they chased the poor animal around the room while Toad and Chris watched the whole thing in disbelief. "What are you guys doing?" asked Chris. The laughing mutants ignored him and chased the bat into darkness. A moment later, they came running back screaming. "Run! That fella's got reinforcements!" yelled John. Suddenly, dozens of bats came chasing after them.

The camera cuts to them everyone back in the kitchen with even more bandages on them. "Well now that you've all gotten your rabies shots, care to keep ghost hunting? We could post this stuff online and call it Brotherhood Jackass." chuckled Chris. "Shut up." grumbled John.

"That does it. I'm retiring from ghost hunting. It sucks." said Fred. "Same here. I don't care what you saw Toad, it's not worth getting swarmed by flying rodents and knowing what Wanda is like during her period." said John. The camera dims, the low power indicator lights up.

"What the…I replaced the batteries yesterday." Chris mumbled to himself. The camera then goes dark, powerless. "Ahh man." grumbled Chris. The lights in the room flicker The three ghost hunter wannabes continue arguing, unaware that behind them a shadow was moving along the wall. Chris squints, not quite sure he saw what he thought he did.

"But I swear guys, I saw a ghost." pleaded Toad. The shadow formed into a humanoid shape, Chris's eyes widened. "Uhh…guys." stuttered Terrance. "Well then you go looking for it because it clearly doesn't want us to find it." said John. The shadow moved off the wall, taking a 3 dimensional shape. "Guys." gulped Chris. "What?" asked a frustrated John. Chris responded by pointing behind them. The three turned around to see the shadow figure advancing towards them. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" all four mutants screamed and ran out of the room.

"What was that?" yelled Chris. "I told you there was a ghost." shot back Toad. The being walks through the wall, the four mutants all gasp. Streaks of electricity inside it's figure all form into two energy spheres. Bolts of electricity shot out, nearly blasting the hood members.

"Run!" yelled Fred as everybody screamed and took off running. The commotion quickly attracts Kine, Pietro, and Wanda who nearly get run over in the process. "What is going on here?" demanded Wanda. The four mutants point down the hallway where the shadow was catching up to them.

"What is that thing?" asked Kine. Wanda throws a hex bolt at it, the shadow disintegrating upon impact. "Well that wasn't such a big deal." quipped Pietro. The shadow reappeared in the same spot it vanished, continuing it's advance. Wanda sent another hex bolt. It vanished but reappeared again, this time faster.

The being fired two bolts of electricity, both sent harmlessly away from anyone thanks to Wanda's hex powers. The shadow wasn't phased in the slightest, not slowing down towards it's targets. Wanda used her powers to hurl a nearby shelf and table at it, both passing harmlessly through it's body. "Uhh guys. I could use some ideas here." said Wanda, getting a little worried. Chris sent out psy static but it had no effect. Kine tried using his powers but they had the same result. "What do we do?" cringed Toad. "The most sensible thing to do in a situation like this. RETREAT!" yelled Pietro, dashing away. The rest of the hood all quickly followed him out of the front door and to their car parked out front. The Hood all quickly crammed themselves in and drove off as the shadow walked through the front door.

* * *

The Hood all breathed in a sigh of relief after turning onto a main road, though their vehicle wasn't designed to hold that many people.

"Okay, I realize I just witnessed something but could somebody please tell me what that was." said Kine. "Casper ain't friendly that's what. Oww, watch the elbow Chris." said John. "I can't help it. Blob is taking up 95 percent of the car." groaned Chris. "Ahh, who touched my butt?" screamed Toad. "Believe me that wasn't intentional. I don't have any room." grumbled Wanda. "Oh well, that's okay sweetums." smiled Toad. Wanda muttered something about disembowelment underneath her breath.

"Okay, we need a plan. Maybe call an exorcist or something." said Pietro who was driving. "No, take us to City Hall. There's bound to be records there." said Kine. "Records of what?" asked Fred. "I don't know but maybe we can find some clue as to what that was." answered Kine.

* * *

Xavier sat in Cerebro going over his latest city scan. There indeed was a new mutant signature in the area but its signal was erratic. Cerebro couldn't determine whether the mutant was on the other side of town or right next to him. Either way, Charles decided not to act on anything just yet. It was a night off for all of his students, most of them going to some rock concert. He'll tell them all about it later.

* * *

Rogue instantly regretted coming to the concert. The thunderous applause and cheers of the audience coupled with the loud music from the boom boxes onstage made her headache even worse. _Let me out_. That thought was now starting to become a voice that drowned out everything else. _Let me out_ it repeated itself over and over again. She knew a bunch of her teammates were here as well. Scott and Jean were together "as friends" while Kurt was going with Amanda. Kitty took Jamie with her only because he was the only one who wanted to go. The others teased her earlier that she had a date. And Tabitha was in the front row, cheering louder then anybody else.

"I think this was a mistake Risty. I don't do well in crowds and can barely move right now." moaned Rogue, her headache now reaching an all time high. "Relax, you're covered up enough." said Risty. But that didn't make her feel any better. "I need to get out of here." said Rogue.

She turned to try and push her way through the crowd when someone tripped, grabbed her arm as he fell. He ended up ripping off her entire right arm covering. Somebody else bumped into her, instantly getting absorbed by Rogue then dropping to the ground. Rogue stumbled back and accidentally hit someone else, absorbing her lifeforce. Then Rogue got shoved right into Risty, draining her now. Rogue's mind felt like it was exploding. All these thoughts and images, memories that she couldn't figure out what were her's and what were somebody else's. Then came the shocking realization that her best friend, the one person she could talk to about anything was Mystique. That was all it needed to finally break free.

Finally, Marie was free at last. No longer buried within the confines of Rogue's subconscious. No longer a silent observer who watched everything and couldn't lift a finger to change anything. All of that was gone. Now Rogue was the one shut away from the world. Better she stay there, this world was filled with nothing but betrayal anyways. Marie was the only one who loved Rogue in this world, the only one who truly cared.

She shoved Mystique away from her and glanced up at the stage. "This band sucks." she said. With a thought, she summoned a magnetic field that brought the lights above the stage to come crashing down. Nearby, Jean used her powers to stop them in mid-air while the band quickly ran for cover. That arrogant red head always made things worse for Rogue, taking Scott's attention from her. Marie summoned a whirlwind above Jean and sucked up her into the air. The audience was now kicking and screaming towards the exits.

"Rogue." groaned Mystique. "She's not here right now but she does have a message for you." said Marie. She stomped her foot into the ground, creating a seismic tremor that hurled Mystique away. Marie turned around to notice Kitty and Jamie running up to her.

"Is that Mystique?" asked Kitty. Marie ignored her question, focusing her attention on Jamie. He had a power she didn't have. Not anymore. Marie's hand shot out and grabbed Jamie on the forehead. He gasped and was drained in seconds. "What are you doing?" yelled Kitty. Marie sent her flying away with a telekinesis.

She then noticed Scott, Kurt, Tabitha, and Amanda were helping a fallen Jean. The tramp escaped the cyclone but not without expending all her strength. Marie wasn't interested in her or anybody else except Tabitha. Another power she didn't have. Marie used Quicksilver's speed to zip up right next to the blondie and grab her face. Another set of memories along with a new power.

"Rogue are you out of your mind?" yelled Scott. "Yes she is out right now. Thanks to all of you." replied Marie. She fired an optic blast from her eyes, sending Scott flying. Kurt grabbed her from behind, trying to restrain her. "Stop it Rogue. This isn't you." he pleaded. He suddenly fell forward right through, Marie using Kitty's phasing powers. She then grabbed him and lifted Nightcrawler up like a bag of rice before hurling him all the way up to the top of the arena. Kurt managed to grab onto some lights on the ceiling. Marie glanced over at a terrified Amanda. "You're not even worth mah time." Marie said before teleporting away.

Kurt teleported back down. "Are you alright?" he asked Amanda. She nodded her head. "What happened?" groaned Jean, regaining consciousness. "Rogue just went psycho on us that's what." said Kitty, helping a weakened Jamie. "And somehow she was using my powers without touching me." groaned Scott. "Yah, she was using phasing, teleportation, weather control, when can she suddenly do that?" asked Kurt. "Maybe Mystique had something to do with it." said Kitty.

"Mystique was here? We better call the professor." said Jean.

* * *

"You sure about this Vanessa. The boss is going to be in one of his moods if he finds out you're out fighting X-Men without his permission." said Scalphunter. The Marauders were all sitting in a van with Vanessa, waiting for her to decide.

None of them would have ever guessed that she would become one of them. The boss said it had to do with a little mind manipulation and Stockholm syndrome. Spending years with the Marauders changed the way she acted around them. Over time, she started bonding with them and now she was a willing member. The few telepathy sessions Sinister were barely needed to get her cooperation.

"Yeah I want to do this guys. They need to pay for what they did to all of you." replied Vanessa. "Give 'em hell girl." said Vertigo. Vanessa leaned towards Arclight and kissed him on the cheek. "Just sit back and watch. You can all take the credit once we deliver the bodies of Xavier and all of his girl scouts." smiled Vanessa.

(Wow a lot happened this chapter. Normally I hate using so many characters in one chapter but I really liked it this time. Next chapter, Rogue's new personality Marie in on a rampage and the X-Men has to stop her and an enhanced Vanessa as well. The Brotherhood won't be much help to them since they are being stalked by that ghost like figure. Ciao.)


	55. Self Possessed

(Sorry for the late delay. I was hoping to have more to this chapter but unfortunately, stuff came up. I would have done it sooner but I just kept thinking no it shouldn't stop there keep going. But it's about time I updated so here it is.)

The Hood all waited impatiently as Kine typed away at a computer. They were in City Hall's records room and thankfully, almost everything was stored electronically. Pietro whined about the possibility of searching through the massive paper records. Technically, people weren't allowed access to this area but give out a few hundreds can open a lot of doors so to speak.

"Okay. The police responded to various calls from Mr. Abbott, each one he described a shadow-like intruder. The first call was about three months ago. Before that, not a single report about anything matching our unfriendly guest." said Kine.

"Anything happen around that time? Hauntings and poltergeists usually originate from traumatic deaths." said Wanda. Everyone glanced at her. "What? Agatha taught me a few things about magic and spirits before she disappeared to who knows where." shrugged Wanda.

"Let me pull up Franklin Abbott's personal file." said Kine. "Personal file? The government has files on people? Police State! It's coming!" yelled John. "Shut up Pyro." everyone else said.

"Here we go. About a month before the first reported sighting, he was in a car accident. Apparently he was driving drunk and not the first time he got caught doing this I might add. Only this time, his sixteen year old daughter Hope was in the passenger seat." said Kine.

"Did she die?" asked Toad. "No but she was hurt pretty very bad. Let me look up her file." said Kine. "Her file? The government has a file on a sixteen year old kid?" yelled John. And that was the last thing he said before Wanda hexed him into the wall. "Hope Abbott is currently in the Extended Care Ward of Bayville General Hospital. She's in a coma." said Kine. "Well then I know just the person to call for help." said Pietro.

* * *

Marie walked down the sidewalk, whistling as she glanced into the various stores. A clothing shop caught her eye and she stopped, leaning closer. It was closed with no one inside but Marie wasn't going to let that stop her. She phased through the wall and immediately checked her appearance in a nearby mirror.

"Okay Rogue, the whole gothic thing just doesn't work for you." Marie said. The southern belle didn't dress this way just for her love of Twilight books. It was mostly in the hope that no one would stay away from her. But that needed to change.

Marie sweeped her eyes throughout the store, shapeshifting into the various clothing. She changed from one to another, none of them really satisfying her. Then she remembered something a while ago and her body shifted instantly to Rogue's Bayville Siren outfit. "Now we're talking." smiled Marie. Her hair extended a little and a pair of black shades grew overtop of her eyes.

"Oh yeah, I'll be catching his eye alright." she smirked. Then something happened. Her reflection changed into Rogue, the real one. The reflection seemed to be screaming but there wasn't any noise. It banged on the mirror as if trying to break out. Marie growled and punched it, the mirror shattering into hundreds of pieces. "You had you're chance to live large and you blew it. It's my turn now and I'm not giving it up." yelled Marie.

"Rogue." Mystique's voice came behind her. Within the blink of an eye, every object in the store flew into the air and bombarded the shapeshifter. "Rogue stop. Listen to me." Mystique pleaded, being literally engulfed by clothing, hangers, shoes, etc. One second she was suffocating, the next everything flew away from her.

"What's there to say mother? Sorry for not being around in your life. I had more important things to do like work for a guy with a god complex or getting knocked up by an extra dimensional demon. Or perhaps working with a mad scientist who would experiment or exterminate your own flesh and blood in a heartbeat." said Marie.

"That's all over. I swear I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you." said Mystique. She was suddenly hurled into the wall, a telekinetic force pushing her harder and harder. "You really want to make it all up to me?" asked Marie. Mystique dropped to the ground, free and gasping for air. "Find me new mutants to drain." ordered Marie.

"Cerebro, it can find every mutant in the world." said Mystique. "Well then, let's go." said Marie.

* * *

Logan sighed, his sense of smell completely useless at this point. He tried to track down Rogue after Scott and the others reported in but so far no luck. If she had Mystique's advanced shape shifting abilities then there was little he could do at this point. The Professor had sent everyone out in teams to search for her while he tried using Cerebro to track her movements.

"I've got nothing Chuck. Any luck on your end?" Wolverine asked on his intercom. "No. If Cerebro can't detect Mystique then I doubt it'll find Rogue." replied Xavier. "I'll regroup with Beast and Bobby." said Logan.

* * *

"Keep in touch." said Xavier before cutting the line. He turned his wheelchair around and made towards the exit. The doors opened and standing outside was Mystique. "Hello Charles." she smirked. She grabbed him, lifting Xavier out of his chair.

_X-Men! Mystique is here!_ Charles sent out a psychic message. Mystique tossed him into the hallway, landing right at the feet of a very different looking Rogue. Instantly, he sensed something was wrong inside of her. He could sense screaming inside of Rogue's psyche but it barely registered. But with Rogue using Mystique's ability block out telepaths, he couldn't look any deeper.

"Practice, train, discipline, yadda yadda yadda. You have no idea how long I've been sitting in the shadows of Rogue's mind and listening to you spout on about tolerance this and coexistence that. Well I've been wanting to do this for God knows how long." said Rogue. The last thing Xavier saw was her fist coming down on his face.

* * *

Marie finished absorbing Xavier's life force then strolled into Cerebro, Mystique following close behind. "With this device, we can find you every mutant in the world for you to absorb. Given time, you will be unstoppable my dear." said Mystique.

Marie picked up Cerebro's helmet and put it on, activating the machine. A holographic display appeared, showing multiple red dots all across North America. "There's more mutants then I imagined." commented Mystique.

"Hmm…well I'll be. He's here." said Marie. "Who's here?" asked Mystique. She didn't get an answer as Marie teleported away, the helmet falling to the floor. "What the…Rogue?" coughed Mystique, catching a whiff of the brimstone smell left behind.

* * *

Doctor Donald Blake strolled towards his office, using his wooden cane to get around. Ever since he could remember, he couldn't use his right leg very well. None of the doctors who treated him could tell him why either. His cane was sitting out his house one day, left by God knows who, and Blake had been using it ever since. He entered his office and found the whole room packed with his more popular patients, members of the Brotherhood (Pietro, Wanda, Toad, and John).

"Hi doc." said Pietro. "Next time you want to see me, call ahead. You don't need to break into my office." said Blake. "Won't happen again." said Wanda. He knew that the Brotherhood hated pretty much anybody except for Blake. Being the only doctor in town to openly treat mutants made him respected in the mutant community but practically hated by the rest of his peers.

"We need your help mate." said John. "Specifically information on a patient. Hope Abbott." said Pietro. Blake sighed. "You know that all medical information is privileged." he stated. Pietro held up a folder. "That's okay, we already have her file. We just need you to explain all this to us. And I promise I will put it right back where I found it." replied the speed demon.

"Oh fine." conceded Blake, taking the folder out of Pietro's hand. He quickly scanned through it. "Is there a reason you're so interested in this woman?" asked the doctor. "Well, we think there's a ghost chasing us and she might be involved." said Toad. "A ghost?" asked Black, incredulous.

"He was a very unfriendly bloke." said John. "Well there's nothing out of the ordinary here. Her blood screening and medical exams show no sign of anything supernatu…" said Blake, stopping himself when something caught his eye.

"What is it?" asked Wanda. "One thing did stand out about her DNA. A unique type of chromosome the lab guys never saw before. Though that wouldn't be the case if she were admitted these days." answered Blake. "Can we just skip to the finale here?" asked a bored Pietro. "The patient is a mutant." said Blake.

"She's what?" said Toad. "So she's the one who attacked us in the mansion." said Wanda. "That's not possible. Miss Abbott scored level 2 on the Los Amigos scale. Minimal reaction to any stimuli and brain activity is barely registering." said Blake. "This is not a coincidence. Stuff like this always lead to the truth in the X-Files." said John. "Getting investigative tips from a TV show? Way to use your brain John." groaned Wanda.

"Hang on, there's something else. She's been given a daily injection of something called GRS 123." said Blake. "What is it with doctors and naming drugs with stupid and incredibly long names? Why can't they use simple names like meth or pot?" commented John. Everyone glared at him. "Not that I've been taking any recently." he quickly added.

* * *

Scott drove his car right through Institute's entrance gates. He pulled up to the front door and his two passengers Jean and Ray both leaped out. Scott shifted the clutch to park then leaped out as well. "Jean can you pick up the Professor?" asked Summers. "No. Either he's not here, he's unconscious, or he's…" said Jean. "Don't think like that." said Ray, not letting her finish that last thought.

Another set of vehicles pulled through the entrance, the rest of the X-Men had arrived. "Inside now." said Scott. The three rushed to the door. BOOM! It exploded, sending a shockwave that knocked the three mutants back. They all groaned, slowly getting back to their feet as the rest of the X-Men and New Mutants assembled behind them.

A figure stepped into the fires engulfing the main entrance, striding harmlessly and casually. It emerged to reveal an old familiar face. Vanessa Marshall. She was the Marauder equivalent of a battle suit and had a device on the back of her neck. "Vanessa? What are you doing?" demanded Scott. "Just looking for some payback for what you did to my friends." she replied, her eyes glowing yellow. "Friends? Those people kidnapped you and held you against your will." said Jean.

"They took care of me. I didn't want to accept it at first but as time went on, the truth came to me." said Vanessa. "Are you out of your mind? They take you away from your family and now you want to help them?" asked an incredulous Kitty. "Arclight and the Marauders are my family!" yelled Vanessa.

"We don't have time for this. The Professor is in danger and you are in our way. Step aside." demanded Storm. "Oh he's alive but he won't be like that for long. And neither will any of you." said Vanessa. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." growled Logan, his claws popping out. "Take her down!" yelled Summers. Vanessa shot a massive shockwave out of her palms, knocking every to the ground.

* * *

Remy walked through the sewers, holding his nostrils closed. Not exactly the greatest assignment but he believed in helping out other mutants so he was combing the tunnels hoping to find the Morlocks. These underground dwellers to be much better at hiding then Gambit anticipated. He had been hunting for them for the past few hours and he hasn't seen a single sign of them.

"What an appropriate place to find a Swamprat." said a familiar voice behind him, Rogue's. He smiled and turned around. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded his eyes. The next thing he knew, the wind was blowing in his face and he could hear the sounds of car horns and engines beneath him. His vision cleared to see he was now standing on the top of the Spencer Bridge, a few miles outside of Bayville.

"Nice view isn't it?" asked Rogue, who Remy just realized was standing beside him. He turned to her and nearly gasped when he saw what she was wearing. She looked like something out of a Hollywood movie premiere with a striking purple dress, long black hair curled into a bun. "Uh, well that wasn't the view I was interested in." smirked Gambit.

"I figured as much." smiled Rogue who strolled up close to him, face to face. "Uh chere, just what exactly are you doing?" asked Remy, getting a little worried. "Maybe I'm sick of being alone. Maybe it's time to me to have what I really wanted all along." replied Rogue.

She suddenly grasped Remy's face with both her hands and pulled him forward. Her incredible strength caught the Cajun by surprise but it wasn't the biggest shock for him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. To his amazement, nothing happened. Well, he was absolutely into it but the main thing was that he was touching her and wasn't getting the life sucked out of him. Rogue's arms moved from Remy's cheeks and wrapped around his chest. Soon, Remy found himself doing the exact same thing.

"Stop!" yelled Rogue's voice. Remy opened his eyes and realized that another Rogue (in normal gothic attire) was standing a few feet away. The Belle kissing pulled away and turned to her double. "I said go away!" she yelled, sending a psychic blast from her mind that dispersed the other Rogue.

"Now where were we?" asked Rogue, turning back to Remy. "Alright Rogue, just what happened just now?" demanded Gambit. "Nothing, just a personality being put in its place. How about we forget about that and continue where we left off." she replied, moving closer. This time Remy held up his hands, stopping her. "And just how exactly are you suddenly able to touch me without sucking the life out of me?" he asked. "Why are you questioning this? Isn't this what you wanted? You and me being able to be together?" said Rogue.

"What I want is to know is what's happening to you. Don't get me wrong though, I just liked what happened between us but right now it's not making a lot of sense." said Remy. "Alright, the truth then. You know every time Rogue touches someone, she takes their powers and memories right?" explained Rogue. Gambit nodded.

"Well, those don't just go away. They accumulated inside her subconscious and a personality formed to handle them. In essence, I am the combination of every person Rogue has ever touched. Power wise and personality wise." continued Rogue.

Remy backed up. "You're not Rogue." he said bluntly. "No I am! I'm as much a part of her as she is a part of me. I'm not some cheap knockoff or double." responded Rogue, angered by the accusation. "Where's the real Rogue?" demanded Remy. "Tucked away nice and comfy inside. Where she doesn't have to worry about anything ever again." answered Rogue, or at least what Remy thought was Rogue.

"Bring her back." Gambit demanded in a low threatening voice. "Remy what are you…?" she started to say before Remy pulled out his stack of cards, charging them with kinetic energy. Her eye's narrowed and the next thing Gambit knew, he was flying into the air over the side rail. Instead of flying face first into the pavement hundreds of feet below, his body hovered in the air.

"And what exactly did you hope to accomplish? My powers surpass Magneto and you threaten me? For whom? Rogue? The one who sits in a corner feeling sorry for herself day in and day out? Someone who couldn't make an emotional connection even if she wanted to." she said.

"That's funny coming from you." said Remy. "What do you mean?" she demanded. "You insult Rogue for not having a life but you also said that she's just as much a part of you as you are of her. Why did you just kiss me then? I certainly doubt that's part of bucket head's personality. Only one who'd do that is the Belle herself." said Remy.

"So what?" she shot back. "You hate Rogue because you are her. Just without you're powers and with a conscience." said Gambit. "I am not her!" she yelled. Suddenly, another Rogue appeared and grabbed the other. Gravity kicked in and Remy managed to grab the ledge before dropping.

* * *

Logan found himself flying through the air yet again. Storm and Cannonball landed unconscious right next to him. This was getting ridiculous, nothing they did was working. None of their attacks or powers seemed to even slow Vanessa down let alone hurt her.

That device allowing her to use all of her potential powers at once made her unstoppable. And to make matters worse, she was just toying with all of them. All she was really doing was floating in the air in a forcefield and shooting shockwaves out of her hands.

"Okay, we need a new plan people. Kurt, you teleport into the mansion with Kitty and get the professor out through the underground tunnels." said Scott. "No way." said Kurt. "Yeah, we're not leaving this fight." said Kitty. Jean flew through the air screaming, crashing into Tabitha.

"What fight?" growled Logan, running by them only to get blasted via optic eye beams from Vanessa. "No time to argue, get the professor to safety. Once you're clear, we all fall back to the old Hydra base." said Summers.

* * *

Rogue grabbed onto Marie and refused to let go. The two personas struggled, trying to maintain control. Gambit climbed back up and could only watch in amazement as the two continued to pound each other. "Remy might find this hot if it wasn't so weird." he said to himself.

As if that wasn't weird enough, Rogue started pulling Marie into her own body as if absorbing her. "No, I'm not going back under." said Marie, who started pushing Rogue away from her. Gambit pulled out a charged card and tossed it at her feet. The explosion was small but provided the distraction that Rogue needed to pull Marie inside of herself. She screamed in pain before a bright light blinded Remy.

When his vision cleared, he saw Rogue lying on the ground exhausted. "That is you right chere?" he asked. Rogue got up and punched him in the shoulder. "Ouch. Yeah it's you." he groaned. Rogue gasped and clutched her head. "What's wrong?" asked Gambit.

"She's fighting me. I can't hold her in forever." said Rogue. Then she glanced off into the distance. "My friends…they're under attack." she said before teleporting away. "Rogue!" yelled Gambit.

* * *

_I'm not going to be just a voice!_ yelled Marie's voice. Rogue struggle to keep her in but the other personality was relentless. _I won't go back. I won't!_ she yelled again and again. Rogue knew it was hopeless. The X-Men were fighting Vanessa and getting wasted. There was no way Rogue could fight Vanessa while fighting Marie as well.

"What if I agree to give you control?" asked Rogue. Marie was silent, probably caught off guard. _I don't believe you._ "You know how I feel about my friends and how far I'll go to protect them. If saving their lives means you having control from now on then I'll do it." replied Rogue. Marie was again silent, considering. _I get control and you take a backseat permanently._ "Deal." sighed Rogue. Then she felt a wave of power and strength. Marie was no longer fighting her but aiding her.

Beast was the last of the X-Men still standing, caught in a tornado created by Vanessa. She blasted him with a combination of optic beams and electricity, knocking him down just like the others. The X-Men all moaned in pain, injured and tired. Vanessa hadn't broken a sweat.

"All clear." she sent a mental message. A van pulled into the Institute, the Marauders quickly disembarking. "Wow babe, you sure know how to make an impression." smiled Arclight. The Marauders surround the fallen X-Men, preparing to deliver the final blows themselves.

"Hey, where's Miss Twilight?" demanded Blockbuster. "We'll deal with her later. Right now, let's collect some heads." said Scalphunter, two chainsaw blades popped out of his exoskeletons.

"Wait a minute." said Vanessa, sensing something. Without warning a streak moving at the speed of sound zipped past all the Marauders, hitting them all with intense force. Now everyone is down except Vanessa, the streak bouncing off her shield. It finally stopped to reveal itself, Rogue. "You!" yelled Vanessa.

All the X-Men looked on in disbelief. Rogue was floating in the air, her eyes glowing red, streaks of electricity surrounding her hands, her body in steel form. "Ya'll ready for a real fight?" she asked. Vanessa growled and leaped into the air.

(So the big fight between the two powerhouses will be next chapter. Also, the conclusion to the Brotherhood's poltergeist problem. For those of you comic books fans, you should probably have an idea of who is behind this. And because I'm excited about what is to come, I'll reveal what happens two chapters ahead. Operation Wildfire is about to commence. Hope you enjoy and please review.)


	56. Clash

(Good things come to those who wait and the conclusion to the longest story arc yet finally comes to a conclusion. Read on and review please.)

Donald Blake walked into the Extended Care Ward with Wanda, John, Pietro, and Toad following. "There she is." said Blake, pointing to a sixteen year old blond haired girl lying on a patient bed. Plastic tubes were inserted into her nostrils, various wires hooked up to her forehead and chest. Next to her, multiple monitors display her heart rate, blood pressure, EG, etc. Her eyes were closed, her body motionless.

"A regular old sleeping beauty ain't she." commented John. "Maybe we should have Toad give her a kiss. That'll wake her up and screaming too I might add." quipped Pietro. That got him a smack in the back of the head from Wanda.

"Excuse me. What are you doing here?" demanded a doctor in his fifties, tending to Hope Abbott's machines. "Just looking for a poltergeist." said John. The man glared at Blake. "I should have known you'd be involved in something involving their kind." he said.

"This is Doctor Stanton, the man in charge of treating all patients in this Ward." said Blake who was about as happy to see the man as having a root canal. "This area is off limits except to faculty and family members. You're going to need to leave." said Stanton.

Wanda's eyes glowed but Blake calmed her down by touching her shoulder. "Let me handle this." he whispered. He then turned to Stanton. "Well if I do leave, I'll be sure to call up the FDA and ask them about GRS 123." he continued.

Stanton's eyes widened instantly. Clearly, Blake hit a soft spot. "I assume such medication is authorized for human use." said Blake but he already knew the answer to that. Stanton quickly scanned the room to make sure no other medical staff was around.

"Look, Hope's condition isn't treatable by normal medication. If I didn't try something, she'd be a vegetable for the rest of her life." explained Stanton. "And just what exactly is this GRS 123?" demanded Toad.

"It's a nootropic." said Stanton. "No…a…tropic? Is it something tropical?" asked John. "Nootropic a brain enhancing drug. Various kinds can improve memory and attention. But that's hardly going to help Hope in her condition." said Blake.

"GRS 123 isn't some over the counter medication. Amnesiacs regained lost memories after only taking a few injections. Patients with learning disabilities started solving complex mathematical equations after only two days on it. It basically enhances the interaction between neurons in the brain. My hope was that it could reestablish damaged neural connections and allow her to regain consciousness." explained Stanton.

"I can think of a few people who need to take some of that stuff around here." said Wanda glaring at Pietro. "That's not nice to talk about Blob when he's not here." smirked Pietro, knowing that's not what she meant. "This drug sounds great and all but I assume there's a reason why you don't want the FDA to find out about all of this." said Toad.

"The drug has been found to have adverse side effects. Psychosis and dementia were stricken in about forty percent of test subjects. After two human trails, it was labeled too dangerous for human use. I had a friend who helped create it and gave me some samples to try on my more terminal patients." answered Stanton.

"So you experimented on people?" growled Wanda. "No. I was only trying to help them. This drug might be their last hope for a normal life." said Stanton.

"If this stuff is illegal, how come you put it down in the medical files?" asked Pietro. "Because he couldn't risk it. If his staff didn't know about the drug, they might accidentally give a patient something that might not mix well with it." answered Blake.

They didn't notice everything electric next to Hope Abbott began to flicker.

* * *

Blob, Kine, and Chris all waited in the hospital lobby while the others were talking to Dr. Blake. Chris was watching some movie with Charlie Sheen on a nearby television. Blob passed him by, heading towards the vending machines. "Speaking of Two and a Half Men." Chris chuckled underneath his breath.

Blob inserted some coins and pressed a button. And he pressed it a little too hard as his finger went right through the keypad. "Oops." he whispered. Making sure no one was watching, he lifted the machine up and shook it. Various candy bars fell out. Blob licked his lips and reached down to grab them. That's when he saw it, the shadow on the wall moving towards him.

Just like before, it moved off the surface into a 3 dimensional shape. Fred screamed as the shadow charged itself up. He ran through the nearest wall, running for his life. Kine and Chris all saw what happened and quickly ran in the opposite direction as the shadow walked after Blob.

* * *

"Looks like the nootropic drug enhanced only certain parts of her brain, more likely the region controlling her powers." said Blake, looking over Hope's chart. "Powers? What are you talking about?" demanded Stanton.

"Since she's in a coma that would mean that astral projection or whatever is being controlled by the subconscious. This drug probably not only enhanced her powers but induced a form of dementia that caused her subconscious to lash out. Think about it. She only appeared at her old house, obviously somewhat territorially as she sees you as intruders." said Blake.

"How do you know all that?" asked Toad, scratching his head. "I'm just guessing." shrugged Blake. "I'm also guessing that her father's death wasn't an accident as well. Hit by a bolt of lightning according to the records I saw." said John. "Her subconscious was probably angry at her father for what he did to her." said Blake.

"Okay now that we've gotten past the plot twist, how do we skip to the end?" asked Pietro. The group heard a commotion down the hallway. "Help!" screamed Fred's voice down the halls. "Crap, we only skipped to the climax." groaned Pietro, zipping away. Wanda, Toad, and John chased after him.

* * *

Fred busted through another wall into a doctor's office. The two people inside screamed. "Excuse me." said Freddy, charging through another wall. The transparent shadow strolled into the room, following Fred through a hole he made and ignoring the two humans.

Pietro zipped through the room, creating an updraft that blew dozens of papers into the doctor's faces. Wanda, Toad, and John ran through quickly as well. The two humans glanced at each other. "No retirement package is worth this." one said to the other.

* * *

In the woods just outside Bayville, the normally quiet area changed into a war zone. Rows of trees dropping every second as two mega mutants exchange blows. A punch from Vanessa sent Rogue flying into the highway leading into the city. The southern belle slide on the pavement, her metallic body leaving a massive skid mark. Vanessa shot towards her in the air at super speed. Rogue phased herself, her opponent passing right through and colliding into a tanker truck. The large vehicle overturned from the impact. Unharmed, Vanessa got to her feet and sweeped the area with her eyes. To her surprise, Rogue was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Rogue came flying out of the ground underneath Vanessa, phasing through the pavement and upper cutting the Marauder. She then grabbed Vanessa by the feet and hurled her towards a nearby power plant.

Vanessa crashed through the middle of a brick steam pipe, splitting it in half and crashing to the ground. She came to rest next in an electrical substation. She groaned, not in pain but anger. She pulled some nearby cables out and started absorbing massive amounts of electricity. Next, she summoned storm clouds overhead. Streaks of lightning shot down into her. Her whole body glowed, electricity and sparks coursed around her. Rogue zipped up to the substation and Vanessa fired a massive bolt of electricity at her. The energy hit her dead center, launching her into the air like a missile towards downtown Bayville.

* * *

The lights went dark in the hospital corridors, emergency lights activated but hardly provided illumination. Fred glanced around, scoping the hallways for his shadowy attacker. Hospital staff ran around in frenzy, trying to check all patients and calm any panic. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw nothing. Then the emergency lights dimmed and Fred moaned. The lighting flashed on and off, creating a seemingly strobe effect as the shadow emerged from the darkness. Blob decided that running wasn't really an option anymore and threw a punch at it.

He instantly regretted his decision when his hand passed through and electricity coursed through his skin. If it wasn't for his near invulnerability, he probably wouldn't still be alive. The shadow reached out and touched his chest, sending more electricity into him. Blob's whole body shook violently as his attacker intensified the voltage.

Pietro zipped into the hallway, tossing a fire extinguisher at the shadow. It passed through and exploded, knocking Blob back and covered the walls in foam. The shadow turned and charged up, firing a bolt of energy at Quicksilver. The mutant easily avoided it. "Give me a break. I've fought with Storm and her's are bigger." mocked Pietro.

It fired a bolt of lightning, missing Pietro again. Only this time the shadow disappeared. Pietro glanced around then turned around to see it was right behind him. It reappeared exactly where the last energy shot hit, as if teleporting itself. Quicksilver tried to dash away but the shadow swiped him, zapping him. Not enough to kill but more then put the mutant on the floor convulsing. Before it could finish the job, a hex bolt hit and the being disappeared.

* * *

In the Extended Care Ward, bolts of energy shot out of the emergency lighting and hit Hope's body. Blake and Stanton were completely dumbfounded.

"Pietro, are you alright?" asked Wanda, kneeling beside him. "Look out." he said in a whisper. She turned around to see the shadow reforming itself. She gasped and just before it could hit her, Toad leaped forward and tackled her out of the way. "Hey Casper! I've got a beautiful flame with your name on it." taunted John, throwing fireballs at it. The shadow turned and walked after Pyro as he led it away from the others. "Sometimes being a friend really sucks." he groaned.

* * *

Rogue picked herself up from the debris caused by her fall. That electronic blast sent her flying right into downtown Bayville. And the building she crashed through didn't really cushion the fall. She walked through the hole she made onto a darkened street.

The whole area seemed deserted. Everyone most likely deciding to stay inside during the blackout then running around in the dark. Suddenly, a magnetic field lifted her into the air. Before Rogue had a chance to respond, Vanessa came flying at her like a missile. She tackled Rogue right through a building, the impact causing the whole thing to collapse around them. Vanessa busted out of the debris, holding Rogue. Vanessa started crushing her throat with her bare hands using her super strength and magnetism. Rogue gasped for air and summoned an energy bomb in each of her hands. She slammed the bombs in Vanessa's face and they detonated. Her opponent screamed in pain. Vanessa staggered back, holding her eyes. She had no injuries but the explosions blinded her. Rogue charges up her eyes with optic energy and fire a massive blast that sent Vanessa flying into the air and out of sight.

* * *

John ran out of the hospital's front entrance with the shadow in close pursuit. He threw another fireball which passed harmlessly through. "Okay, this is not working." groaned the mutant. The shadow charged itself up then the sound of sirens filled the air.

John glanced over his shoulder to see a fire truck parking behind him. Benedict and Chris quickly jumped out and grabbed a water hose from the back. They sprayed the being which seemed to twitch in pain before disappearing. "And stay dead!" shouted Kine. "Am I ever glad to see you mates." John sighed with a breath of relief. "Sorry it took us so long. We had to run to the nearest fire station to get one of these. We had to knock out a few firemen too. Hope that doesn't turn into bad karma and come back to bite us." said Chris.

* * *

The emergency generator kicked in, granting power once again to the entire hospital. Except in Hope Abbott's room where the power didn't just flicker. It also shot out of nearly every electrical object and hit Hope's body.

Blake immediately started unplugging her from all the machines. "What are you doing?" demanded Stanton. "Get me a gurney." ordered Blake.

* * *

Wanda, Toad, Pietro, and Fred came running out the front entrance to finding John, Kine, and Chris all standing proudly next to a fire engine. "Are you guys alright? Where is it?" demanded Wanda. "It's okay. Everything's under control." smiled Kine. "We gave ole Casper a nice shower and he ran back to his momma." chuckled Chris. Their smiles faded instantly when they saw a twenty foot shadow figure form right in the same spot where the last one disappeared. "I guess that's momma." gulped John.

* * *

Rogue flew in the air, searching for Vanessa when she saw an impact crater on a sidewalk. Most likely from the Marauder's crash landing. She dropped to the pavement and scoped the area. The sound of brick and metal cracking caught her attention. Rogue turned around to see the building next to her was lifting into the air with Vanessa underneath it. The Marauder slammed the building down on Rogue, shattering it into a billion pieces. Vanessa then charged up seismic energy and slammed her fist into the ground. The remains of the building and the surrounding area collapsed into a massive sinkhole. "Had enough?" shouted out Vanessa.

Rogue teleported right in front of her and threw a punch. Vanessa blocked it and attempted a spin kick. Rogue caught Vanessa's foot and tossed her into the air. Vanessa came flying back down feet first. Rogue zipped out of the way as the Marauder slammed down onto the pavement, leaving an impact crater. Rogue used superspeed to circle around Vanessa in a cyclone, hitting her at supersonic speeds. Vanessa tried to fight back but Rogue was too fast to hit. Then Rogue started firing optic blasts and adding electricity and energy attacks to her fists. She increased her speed, creating a tornado.

Vanessa growled then screamed, sending out a powerful shockwave in all directions. Rogue is sent flying through an apartment building and out the other side. The rest of the nearby buildings crack, all of their windows shattering from the wave. Rogue came crashing down into a dumpster. She moaned as she got to her feet. Vanessa teleported above her and hovered. Rogue got ready for another attack but Vanessa just laughed hysterically.

"Is that all you've got? All those powers and yet still not in my league. The boss was right, I was the most powerful of the two. Mystique should have chosen better." mocked Vanessa. "What are ya'll talkin about?" demanded Rogue.

That made Vanessa laugh even harder. "You really don't know? Tell me Rogue did you ever think it was odd that when we touch each other the first time we met, nothing happened? You can't absorb my life force and I can't mimic your DNA. Have you ever thought why that is?" asked Vanessa.

Rogue frowned and was suddenly hurled through a nearby lamb post via Vanessa's magnetism powers. "It doesn't really matter in the end. There's no way it can go back to the way things were." said Vanessa, floating to the ground.

"What are you saying?" growled Rogue, getting to her feet. "Just that this fight is somewhat biblical. Jacob and Esau." mocked Vanessa. Rogue charged forward and suddenly stumbled off her feet. Vanessa used Vertigo's psionic energy then fired a shockwave from her hands, knocking Rogue back to the ground. Where she multiplied into five other Rogues.

They all teleported next to Vanessa who leaped into the air before they could hit her. The group glanced up and all fired optic blasts. Vanessa put up a force field but the amount of firepower broke through and knocked her to the ground. "Alright, so that's you want to play it. Let's make this interesting." smirked Vanessa. She slammed her fists together, creating four copies of herself.

On a nearby rooftop, Remy watch the whole thing. He pulled out his satellite phone. "Blink, it's me. Get everyone you can to my location at once. Trust me, this is an emergency." he said.

* * *

Xavier groaned as he regained his consciousness. "Professor, he's waking up." Kurt said, getting Kitty's attention. Charles recognized where they were. The underground tunnels that the X-Men used as an escape route from the Institute.

"Are you alright?" asked Kitty. "Yes but what happened?" groaned Xavier. "It was Vanessa and the Marauders, they attacked the Institute. Scott and the others stayed behind to distract them so we could get you out." explained Kitty. Xavier stretched out his mind and instantly knew what he had to do.

"Take me to Cerebro now." he ordered. "What? But…" protested Kurt. "Please Kurt, we don't have time to fight about this. The Maruaders retreated and the others are recovering but Rogue and Vanessa are fighting. If I don't stop them, they'll destroy the entire city." said Xavier.

* * *

The monstrous shadow touched the fire truck and somehow lifted it up. "Look out!" screamed Toad. Everyone scattered at the vehicle came flying at them, bouncing off the road. "Now what do we do?" yelled Fred. The shadow advanced towards them.

* * *

Blake and Stanton finished carrying Hope up to the top of the stairwell and kicked open the door to the roof. "Why are we here?" demanded Stanton. "Robbing her of an energy source." answered Blake who ran over to a nearby air conditioning unit, shutting it down.

* * *

Wanda through all her strength into a long continuous beam-like hex out her hands, stopping the shadow in it's tracks. "I can't hold this forever." she moaned, lowering to one knee. "Fred, hit that fire hydrant!" Chris yelled. Blob ran over and ripped open a fire hydrant, aiming it's spray at the shadow. The being started flickering, shrinking in size.

* * *

Blake finished turning everything on the roof off when he noticed Hope's body convulsing. "She's having a seizure. We need to get her back inside." demanded Stanton. "No, just wait." said Blake, stopping him.

* * *

The shadow continued to flicker and shrink, now back to normal size. It tried to charge up but couldn't. Finally, it disappeared. "Is it over?" asked Toad, poking his head out of a dumpster.

* * *

Hope groaned and opened her eyes, much to the amazement of the two doctors standing over her. "Where am I?" she asked.

* * *

The five Rogue's and five Vanessa's had turned the entire city block into a war zone. The Rogue's try to work together while the Vanessa's all attack on their own, not bothering to aid one another. Not that they needed to, they clearly had the upper hand. Building after building came down. With each passing minute, the two teams were tearing the whole block apart trying to kill each other.

One Vanessa summoned every vehicle in the block into the air via magnetism and shot them all at the Rogue's. The Rogue copies all phased, punched, or shot their way through only to get blasted by the other Vansessa's. The Rogue's pounded their fists together and doubled their ranks. Vanessa and her copies did the same.

* * *

Kurt teleported into Cerebro with Xavier and Kitty. The two X-Men helped the Professor to the station as he put on the helmet. "This madness ends here." he said.

* * *

The Vanessa's and Rogue's all screamed in pain, their minds being assaulted by Xavier. If he was doing it with his normal powers he wouldn't have stood no chance but with Cerebro enhancing them, the odds were more in his favor. Adding to the fact that the Rogue's helped mentally assaulting the Vanessa's, aiding the Professor despite being attacked themselves. _What's…happening…to me_. The voice was weak, Marie was fading away. The Rogue copies disappeared as did Vanessa's. Rogue managed to walk up to the weakened Marauder and with her last strength, grabbed the device on the back of her neck. Vanessa screamed in pain as Rogue ripped it off. The two dropped to the ground unconscious.

* * *

Xavier slumped, unconscious. "Professor!" screamed Kitty. Kurt quickly teleported all of them to the medical room.

* * *

The Marauders pulled up to the disaster site, scaring off the cops and emergency responders as they worked their way towards Rogue and Vanessa. Arclight quickly ran to her side and scooped her up. "You're gonna be okay babe. Just hang in there." he whispered to her. Blockbuster walked over to Rogue and lifted his foot up to stomp her skull. An energized card hit his chest and exploded, sending him flying.

Gambit, Domino, Blink, and Lorna all ran to Rogue's side. They glared at the others, ready for a fight. "I suggest you get lost old buddies." said Gambit. "One of these days traitor, we're going to settle this." growled Scalphunter. The Marauders ran back to their vehicles and drove off.

Lorna leaped down and checked on Rogue. "Hang on Rogue. We're taking you to a place where you can get help." she said before Blink teleported them all away.

* * *

"Are you sure she's not going to go Poltergeist on us again?" asked Pietro. They were inside Blake's office, watching from the window as Hope was being taken away by social services.

"Well nothing's absolute certain but my guess was that the drugs and the energy she absorbed to fuel her powers were also keeping her unconscious. Hope told me that she could leave her body when she was younger, probably astral projection. The drugs fixed her mind but caused her to leave her body, striking out at those her subconscious blamed for her condition. Once I was able to rob her body of energy and you were able to destroy her form, her consciousness was finally able to return to her body." said Blake.

"Did she really kill her old man?" asked John. "She doesn't remember anything after the accident so I decided not to mention that possibility to her." said Blake. "Well, thanks for the help doc." said Pietro.

The Brotherhood all walked outside while Wanda stayed near Toad. "Todd…thanks…for saving my life." she said, hesitantly. "I'd never let anything happen to you sweetums." replied Toad. "Toad." Wanda said, stopping him. His eyes lite up like candles. "Yes?" he asked. "Stop calling me sweetums." warned Wanda.

She rejoined with the others. Toad shrugged and hopped after her. "How about cupcake?" he asked. Wanda moaned in annoyance.

* * *

"And you're sure Cerebro can't detect her?" asked Beast. Jean shook her head as she entered the control room. "I can't pick up a trace. Wherever she is must be shielded from Cerebro." said Jean. "I'll give you three guesses who took her but you'll only need one." said Logan.

"Magneto. And if he took her, that means he might turn Rogue against us. The same way he turned Lorna." said Storm. "Is the Professor going to be okay?" asked Jean. "He's going to need to rest for the next few days, that psychic blast he did really weakened him." said Beast.

"We've got our own problems to worry about. The public knows mutants did this and I don't think this is just going to go away." said Logan, pointing to various news footage on the screens of the devastation caused by Rogue and Vanessa's battle.

* * *

"_New York State legislators rushed the MRD act early this morning and passed it into law, no doubt due to last night's catastrophe. The act will create a new law enforcement agency dedicated to combating unlawful mutants. The Mutant Response Division was already being organized and supplied before the act but were not official law enforcement agents. As of today, that all changes."_ came a reporter's voice over the radio but Hope wasn't really paying attention. She was speechless at seeing her new home. She couldn't get out of the car fast enough when she ran into a young woman with long blond hair and a silver business suit.

"Hello Miss Abbott. My name is Emma Frost. Welcome to the Massachusetts Academy of Higher Learning." said Frost.

* * *

Colonel William Stryker sat in his office, watching the various news reports of the mutant attack in Bayville. This was it, this was the time to act now. If there were mutants this powerful then they had to be subdued and controlled immediately. He pressed the call button for his secretary. "Send in my daughters." he ordered. A few minutes later, the Cuckoos walked into his office. "Girls, it's time. Operation Wildfire in now effect." he told them.

(I was mostly influenced by the Justice League cartoons for the fight between Rogue and Vanessa so I might have used something that happened in the show once or twice. I could have made their fight longer but when they started multiplying, my head nearly exploded. And yes, Rogue is gone for the moment. What happens to her? You'll just have to wait and see. The X-Men had other problems at the moment. The MRD has arrived and Stryker's Operation Wildfire. Thanks for reading and once again, please review.)


	57. Training Day

(Another long delay but I promise you all the wait was worth it. I've been wanting to introduce the Hellions for awhile but never found an epic enough story to bring them in. Well, I think this should be sufficient. Hope you enjoy.)

**Echelon system accessed…Processing query….Targets acquired…Accessing pertinent records…Searching…Targets located…Charles Xavier-current location Xavier Institute, Bayville…Emma Frost located-on route to Xavier Institute.**

"Excellent." smiled Stryker. The day he had waited for all these years was finally about to happen. The arrival of mutants started a chain of events that all experts agree on one thing, that war between humans and mutants would be inevitable. But all of that will never happen now. And it's all thanks to Emma Frost.

* * *

Life at the Institute was chaotic for the next few days. Xavier was confined to the infirmary while the students tried to get over Rogue's loss. They knew she was still out there but the fact that they couldn't do anything to help her drove many of them insane, especially Kurt. Jean tried using Cerebro but came up with nothing. When explaining her absence in school, they simply said she was sick. No witness or camera caught Rogue's face during the huge brawl so at least the authorities weren't looking for her.

And if losing Rogue wasn't bad enough, there were the MRD constantly knocking on their door. The new law enforcement branch wasted no time in making their presence felt around the Institute. They would constantly show up at random demanding to search the premises for "dangerous mutants."

The first time they were scared off by the sight of Beast answering the door. The second time they got into a fight with Logan and Jean had to wipe their memories of the event. The third time Storm scared them off with a cease and desist order from a Federal judge. Thankfully, not everyone in the court system hated mutants. But that only prevented the MRD from entering the premise without a warrant. Surveillance vans were constantly stationed outside the Institute. Nobody could make a phone call or use the internet without the MRDies knowing all about it.

"Man this sucks." grumbled Bobby as he and the rest of the X-Men were sitting around the television. Things were bad before but the super fight between Rogue and Vanessa put things on a whole new scale. Other then school which was even worse then before, none of the mutants went anywhere. The racism and bigotry was just out of hand. Bayville was probably now the most intolerant city for the mutants in the country. So besides television and Logan sessions, there wasn't a lot to do nowadays.

"Would you rather having Logan starting his training simulations early?" asked Ray. "Good point." conceded Bobby. "I still say we should be out looking for Rogue." said Kurt. "The only thing we know is that she is somewhere on Planet Earth fuzzy. Until you can narrow it down a little, this search party is going nowhere." said Tabitha.

To their surprise, the Professor rolled into the room. Xavier had been weak and bed-stricken for the past few days and seeing him suddenly moving around again gave them pause for concern. "Professor, are you sure you shouldn't be resting?" asked Jean. "I'll be fine. Besides, I wanted to be here for your surprise." replied Xavier.

"Surprise? What surprise?" asked Scott. Xavier smiled and rolled away. The students all followed him out into the main foyer as he stopped by the front doors. "Come in." he said. On cue, the doors opened revealing Emma Frost.

"Hello Charles." she said as she stepped inside. To the student's surprise, she wasn't alone. Multiple teenagers and young adults all about the age of the X-Men all strolled into the Institute. "Allow me to introduce some of my best students. They call themselves the Hellions." said Emma.

"This is team leader Julian Keller also known as Hellion. He is a very powerful telekinetic." introduced Frost, indicating an eighteen year old boy with short black hair. With a wave of his hand, a nearby table lifted into the air as if to prove he could.

"Next is Marie-Angie Colbert. She also goes by the name Tarot." Frost pointed to a sixteen year old girl with long red hair. She pulled out a card with a sword on it. The card lite up and then a sword exactly like the one on the card appeared in her hand. "She can generate any 2D image into a real construct under her command." added Emma.

"And this is Sharon Smith or Catseye as she prefers. She's capable of shifting into several feline forms." said Emma. Catseye was about fifteen, long brown hair, and had slitted pupils like a cat. She morphed into a small tabby cat then shifted into a large panther followed by a werecat form before changing back to human.

"Dallas Gibson aka Specter is capable of blending with his own shadow, making him very formidable." continued Frost. Gibson was seventeen with long brown hair. He smiled and dropped backwards, sinking into his own shadow. It popped off the ground and jumped into the ceiling, disappearing. A second later, the shadow reappeared on the ground, Gibson's body seeming to shed the darkness off him.

"Our newest member of the team: Cessily Kincaid. We call her Mercury." said Frost. A fifteen year old pale girl with red hair. She morphed and shifted, reminiscent of the T-1000. The sight of her powers immediately brought memories of George from the Marauders.

"And the muscle of the team: Santo Vaccarro or Rockslide." A large sixteen year old boy, not fat like Blob but muscular. He pressed a button on his watch and deactivated a hologram covering his body similar to Kurt. His real appearance looked like a large stone golem.

"And this is Jesse Bedlam. He's not a member of the Hellions but I felt he could benefit from some field training here." said Frost, indicating a nervous looking fourteen year old. He also looked strangely similar but no one could really figure out to whom.

"What's his power?" asked Bobby. "Uhh…well you see I can't actually control it. My powers are controlled by my emotions and…" Jesse explained as Gibson pulled out an airphone. "AHHH!" screamed Jesse from the resulting noise. Every electronic object in the room either flickered or exploded. Gibson busted up laughing then quickly shut his mouth upon seeing Emma's face.

"That's coming out of your pocket." Frost growled. "That won't be necessary, this is at least give me something to occupy my time with." said Beast. "And I trust you all know the X-Men and the rest of Xavier Students." Frost said to the Hellions.

Judging from their reactions, they did know all about the X-Men and were not happy to see them. If looks could kill, the X-Men and New Mutants would be dead. "Uhh, nice to meet you all." said Scott, trying to cut the tension. The Hellions continued their unfriendly looks. "Nice to meet you too. I've been meaning to ask all of you something. Just how stupid can one group of people be?" asked Keller.

"What?" asked Jean. "You exposed us to the entire world and were too stupid to figure out that you were being played by Mystique. If she replaced Miss Frost, we would have actually figured it out unlike any of you." shot back Tarot. "Why you little…" growled Kurt. "Okay how about we skip the pleasantries. We're here to conduct joint training exercises, not kill each other." said Frost.

"WHAT?" yelled all the X-Men and New Mutants at once. "Emma, could you please take your students to the Locker Room and get them prepared? I need a moment with my own." said Xavier. "Of course Charles." said Emma, leading the Hellions and Jesse away.

"I didn't tell you about this because Emma and I just couldn't agree on a good time to do this. But with the recent spike in violence against mutants, we thought it would be best to begin immediately." said Xavier. "No offense Professor but those guys really rubbed me the wrong way." said Amara. "The feeling was mutual." said Bobby.

"Don't worry. Wolverine will be handling everyone's training." said Storm. "That so does not make me feel better." moaned Kitty. "As for your newer students, I'm giving you all the day off." said Xavier. The New Mutants all cheered with joy, anything was better then Logan sessions.

* * *

"Pull a stunt like that again James and I will reconsider your leadership position on this team." Frost said, having the attention of all the Hellions. "I expect you all to be on your best behavior from this moment on. Now go get ready." she continued.

The Hellions headed to the locker room, grumbling amongst themselves. "I can't believe we have to work with these people." said Mercury. "Like we could learn anything from them, other then how to be screw ups." said Shade. "I've got a few cards I'd love to try on them." said Tarot. "I not think so. Miss Frost told us be nice so we do what she say." said Catseye.

"Everybody relax. We're going to get them alright but we're going to do the right way." said Keller.

* * *

The X-Men and Hellions all assembled inside the Danger Room. Wolverine was the only adult in the room while everyone else was in the Control Room. "Alright listen up. Charles and Emma have given me full authority over your training. Which means I'm allowed to make it as grueling and tough as I want and the only thing any of you can do is bite your tongue." said Logan.

The X-Men all gulped and the Hellions turned a little pale. "From this moment on, all of your training simulations are level 10." continued Wolverine. "But Mister Logan, you've never let us use any of those." pointed Kitty. "I know." Logan replied. He strolled towards the exit, the two massive doors opening for him to leave.

"Computer, initiate Kobayashi Maru." smirked Logan, the two doors slamming shut behind him. "Wait a minute, isn't that the unbeatable training simulation in Star Trek?" asked Kurt. Instantly, the room changed around them. It turned into a large open city that looked like something from Fallout. Then six Sentinels appeared around them.

"Mutants life signs detected." the machines all sound in unison. "What an appropriate name." gulped Bobby.

* * *

"Hotone to Pushone. I have a visual on the target." Pietro whispered into his radio. _"Shouldn't I be called Hotone?"_ responded John's voice. "No, it's my codename. It's far more appropriate for me then you." said Pietro. _"Considering just how many women are interested in you these days, I'd say otherwise."_ shot back John. "I'm taking a vacation from the opposite sex for the moment alright. I can't waste my charms and talent on just anyone." snapped Pietro.

The whole time he was arguing, he didn't notice Toad sneak up behind him. _"More like the female sex is taking a vacation from you. Nobody's called you in weeks. Face it, you should be called Coldone."_ laughed John. "You're so dead Aussie, you hear me?" yelled Pietro. He heard a whistle behind him and turned to get a paint ball in the chest.

"Victory for the Toad!" cheered Tolensky. "AHHHHH! John, Kine, quick get 'em!" screamed Pietro. Nothing happened except a smirk forming on Toad's mouth. "Guys?" gulped Pietro. To his horror John and Kine stepped out of their various hiding spots, both hit by paintballs as well.

"And the crowd goes wild! Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of this contest. Toad, Blob, and Static!" Toad yelled out sounding like a ring announcer. Blob and Chris emerged holding up their paintball guns triumphantly. "How on Earth could you have not gotten Blob!" yelled Pietro.

"I was about to until you and John went on your little tirade with each other. John lost sight of Chris and he snuck up on me." growled Kine. "Now don't blame us just because you two stand out so well in the woods." mocked Fred.

"We win, therefore tonight we order pizza." said Chris. The three winners walked away triumphantly. "We need a better way to settle arguments." sighed Kine.

* * *

"AHHHH!" screamed Kurt, running away from a pursuing Sentinel. The machine repeatedly fired it's chest cannon and Nightcrawler repeatedly teleported away at the last second each time. "I could use a little please!" he yelled.

"We're kinda busy ourselves Kurt!" shouted back Jean, avoiding an energy blast from another one. Scott, Jean, and Hellion were all taking cover from the same Sentinel. Cyclops fired an optic blast that caused it to stumble but suffered minimal damage. "You call that an attack? Watch this." laughed Hellion. He lifted a nearby large boulder into the air telekinetically and hurled towards the Sentinal. It blasted the rock into pieces long before it reaches the machine.

"Real impressive." snickered Jean. _"Stop fighting each other and start fighting that tin can together!"_ yelled Wolverine over the intercom. Scott glanced at a larger boulder and then at Hellion. The rival team member didn't need to be told what to do, he simply read Scott's mind.

"Jean, help James throw that boulder at 'em. One of my optic blasts should stun it enough to let it get through." said Scott before blasting the Sentinel. Jean and Hellion used their combined powers to lift the massive rock and hurl it into the machine. It's head and chest were smashed like a beer can before exploding. _"Now that is more like it."_ said Wolverine.

A short distance away, Kurt continued to flee his Sentinel pursuer. Suddenly, Mercury leaped off the top of a building and landed on top of the Sentinel's head. She turned into her liquid form, seeping inside of the machine. Parts of it's head began to sparkle and malfunction. Mercury then spread herself down into the chest area, damaging the main power core. The Sentinel went dark and dropped to the ground face first.

Mercury oozed out of an opening and resumed her solid form in front of Kurt. "Whoa." said Kurt, stunned that a single mutant could take down a Sentinel. "Those tin cans aren't so tough if you know where to hit 'em." said Mercury. Another Sentinel dropped down beside them, the impact knocking the two to the ground. It aimed it's chest cannon and prepared to fire.

An ice beam froze over it's optic sensors. The Sentinel clawed at it's eyes as Bobby slide by it on an ice track. Iceman took a breath then fired another icebeam, this time encasing the entire Sentinel in ice. "Please don't use any ice puns right now." commented Mercury, getting to her feet. The ice began to crack, the Sentinel's head freed from firing an energy blast from its eyes.

"Let me try something." said Kurt, teleporting on top of it's head. He concentrated and used all the will he could muster to teleport again, this time taking the head with him. The head appeared nearby on the ground along with Kurt who was exhausted. "I think we should save that trick for emergencies." he moaned.

Elsewhere, Kitty and Rockslide were combating a Sentinel without much luck. "Backup would be very nice right about now!" Kitty screamed into her intercom. _"Everybody else has their hands full. You're on your own."_ replied Wolverine. "Great." moaned Kitty. An energy blast hit Rockslide, shattering him into a million pieces. "Professor! Stop the simulation, Santo's been hurt!" Kitty yelled but no one responded.

She quickly ran as the Sentinel turned its sights on her. It stepped forward then stopped as rocks began to form underneath its foot. Rockslide busted out of its ankle, causing it to stumble back off it feet. Santo ran onto it's chest and started pounding away. The Sentinel grabbed him with one arm and aimed to shoot him with the other. Kitty suddenly ran out of a nearby building and phased through it head, continuously moving down until emerging from the torso. The machine sparkled and then exploded. "Wow, are you okay?" asked Kitty. "Yeah. I can pull myself back together." said Rockslide. "Freaky but cool." said Kitty.

Another Sentinel was having trouble trying to fight Spector as the shadow mutant simply moved up and down the machine causing damage at he went around. Tarot pulled out a spear card. It glowed and a large golden spear appeared floating in the air beside her. With a motion of her hand, the spear shot into the Sentinel's head. The machine exploded and its smoking remains dropped to the ground. Spector appeared beside Tarot. "MVPs right here." said Spector, giving Tarot a high five.

Catseye and Jesse ran from the last one. "Come Jesse. Use powers." said Catseye. "I can't. I swear why does no listen to me. My powers are controlled by my emotions, not my will." said Jesse. "You useless. Why Miss Frost even bring you here?" snapped Catseye.

"Hey! It's not my fault. I was born this way alright? Why can't you people just realize that!" screamed Jesse. Meanwhile, the entire simulation began to glitch along with the Sentinel. The Danger Room shut itself down. Everyone glanced around and then at Jesse. "You yelled on purpose didn't you?" Jesse asked. "Catseye never hate you. Just needed to motivate." smiled Catseye.

The exit doors opened and Logan stormed into the room. "That was atrocious. All of you were supposed to working as one unit, not a bunch of freeloaders doing their own thing." yelled Logan. "But we were working together." protested Scott.

"No, you were working with whoever was standing next to you. You were all supposed to work together as one cohesive group, not several." shot back Logan. "Hey, it worked though. We finished the simulation with no injuries. Though it would have been faster if it was just my team." Hellion replied.

"You didn't seem to be doing that great of a job by yourself." snapped Jean. "That's because I was forced to work with you and bright eyes. I'll take anyone of my people over your two any day of the week." said Hellion. "The feeling's mutual." growled Scott.

Emma and Xavier stepped into the Danger Room. "That's enough all of you." said Charles. "James, a word." said Emma, motioning for him to follow her to the corner. "Scott, Jean, a moment." said Xavier. "Getting sent to the principal's office." mocked Shade.

"Sorry about the treatment you got earlier. You're not bad." Mercury whispered to Kurt. "Uhh, thanks. You too." he replied. "Are you sure you're okay?" Kitty asked Rockslide. "Like a rock." he laughed. "Wow, you should consider yourself lucky. Santo usually doesn't talk this much to anyone outside the Hellions." Mercury told Kitty.

"C'mon, let's bail." said Tarot, not wanting to stand another minute next to the X-Men. Shade quickly joined her. The others slowly made their way after them. Not everyone in the Hellions hated the X-Men anymore.

* * *

"Where are you off to?" Tabitha asked Amara as the Aquillan princess tried to sneak out the front door. "I'm just going out, the Professor hasn't banned any of us from leaving." said Amara. "You didn't answer my question." Tabitha pointed out. "You're right, I didn't." said Amara, bolting out the door. Tabitha chased after her, following her toward the front gate.

Amara used her powers to raise the ground she was on until she could leap over the wall. "No fair!" yelled Tabitha. She rushed towards the main gate when she heard tires squealing. When she arrived at the gate, she only caught a glimpse of a car speeding by with Amara in it but she couldn't tell who the driver was.

* * *

William Stryker paced back and forth impatiently in his office. So much was at stake and yet if this worked, all of the sacrifices he made would have been worth it. Still, the Sentinels might not be able to handle such a large gathering of mutants. Sure, they could win the battle but that wasn't the most important objective.

Lieutenant Cross saluted as he entered the office, carrying an envelope. "Sure, new surveillance transcripts. From what we've been able to gather, Wolverine is planning on taking the X-Men and Hellions out for a field training in the woods." reported Cross. Stryker smiled, this couldn't have worked out better. He took the envelope and emptied its contents. After skimming out over the reports, he said. "Thank you, you're dismissed."

Cross saluted and left. A minute later, Stryker was out of his office and making his way to the elevator. He pressed the B4 button, waiting until his ride took him to the bottom of the facility. The doors opened to reveal the massive underground Sentinel hanger. Dozens of the huge machines were lined up one by one along the walls. Various technicians were spread out, working on virtually everyone of the Sentinels but they weren't Stryker's focus. His eyes caught the sight of the primary scientist of the project, Bolivar Trask. "Trask." he called to the man. It was a miracle the man could even hear him with all that was going on. Trask quickly approached him.

"Yes sir." he said, in a zombie like tone. The girls did a number on him but Stryker never liked the man to begin with. "I need a dozen Sentinels ready to launch in the hour." said Stryker. "What is the target?" asked Trask. "The Xavier Institute." replied Stryker.

(A cliffhanger I know but hopefully won't take me long to put up the next chapter. I chose Hellion members that I wanted to use and write with, not ones that people are used to seeing. I also thought not every member of the group should hate the X-Men because I'm sure fans of Mercury, Rockslide, and Catseye would want me to make them more faithful to the comics then just making them evil. Review!)


	58. The Assault

(Just saw X-Men First Class and it was awesome! So much so that it inspired me to write much faster then I typically do. Funny thing is, this chapter is mostly influenced by X2 movie. You'll see what I mean. Review!)

"Alright listen up. We're taking a little trip to a training course I occasionally use in Upstate New York. I was going to make the X-Men go through it during survival training but you all chose Sergeant Hawk over me." said Logan as the X-Men and Hellions were assembled in the Hanger Bay.

"Survival training with Logan?" gulped Kurt. "Look on the bright side, at least the Brotherhood won't be there." whispered Kitty. "Sergeant Hawk? That guy runs a toddler's camp compared to the stuff we've been put through." said Hellion.

"Well then, you'll have no trouble proving that when we get there. Everyone on the X-Jet." said Logan.

* * *

Xavier and Emma watched from the balcony as the X-Jet flew off into the distance. "I don't know who I feel more sympathy for. The kids for being trained by Logan or Logan for having to handle them all by himself." said Emma.

In the baseball field, all of the New Mutants except Amara were playing Mutantball. Baseball with mutant powers, not exactly a nice relaxing game. It's no wonder Beast decided to repair the lobby instead of joining. Storm decided watering her flowers was a better idea then participating and Xavier didn't blame her. Still, kids would be kids.

The two telepaths walked back inside, heading towards Xavier's personal office. "How much longer can we keep this going Charles?" asked Emma, her tone changing. "What do you mean?" Xavier asked. "I mean, thinking that we're always going to be on the same side. Things are escalating. The MRD will soon be a nationwide federal agency and once that proves popular and you know it will, the Registration Act will pass. After they've catalogued and bar-coded everyone, concentration camps and forced relocation come next." said Frost.

"It won't go that far." said Xavier as the two of them entered his office. "I'm sure the hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans imprisoned during World War 2 thought the same thing." replied Frost. "Which everyone now realized was a terrible mistake. Don't be so quick to dismiss the good of others." said Xavier. "Charles, you're the best man I know but sometimes I think your kindness blinds you." said Emma.

* * *

Beast finished installing new wiring for the lobby. He was quite used to repairing things considering how much damage all hyperactive teenagers with power can cause. Something got wrecked or destroyed virtually everyday but that's what learning control was all about.

"Well, things could be worse. I could be outside trying to play referee with the kids." Beast said to himself as he entered the subbasement and walked to the computer room. Just a few keystrokes and the lobby power would be back on. As soon as he entered, a warning light came on the main terminal. Beast quickly checked over it and found something was setting off the air density sensors. They were just recently installed, designed to detect aircraft that was invisible to radar. But the sensors were going off the scale. Unless several squadrons of fighter jets were conducting exercises nearby, nothing could make readings this large.

* * *

"Sarah's up to bat, the outfielders are moving closer and rightfully so." mocked Tabitha as multiple Jamies all moved off the outfield. Sarah planned on making her eat those words as she stepped up to the plate, bat in hand. Roberto was the pitcher and Ray was the catcher. Roberto nodded something, indicating to Ray what pitch he was going to do. Just as he was ready to throw, Sarah sensed something. She could always sense anything electronic near her but the amount she sensed was incredibly massive and so sudden.

It distracted her so much as she glanced around, she didn't even noticed Roberto pitching the ball. Ray caught it without so much as a swing from Sarah. "Strike." mocked Tabitha. Sarah ignored her, continuing to sweep the area then something in the sky caught her attention. It was a small dot that was slowing growing larger then more dots started appearing. As they got bigger, their shapes became more apparent. In fact, they started looking familiar.

"Everybody run!" yelled Sarah. A Sentinel landed in the middle of the field, nearly crushing Roberto. Two more landed in opposite sides of the field, surrounding. The other nine machines landed next to the Institute.

* * *

The building shook as alarm klaxons went off. Xavier quickly rolled up to his computer. "What's going on?" asked Frost. "We're under attack. Sentinels." said Xavier. This wasn't a coincidence, attacking the Institute right when most of the X-Men and Hellions were gone. Xavier sent out a telepathic message to the New Mutants. _All of you run, don't worry about me._

* * *

Outside, the Institute began to lock itself down. Blast doors retracted over every door and window while automated turrets began activating all over the property. The defensive measures proved nothing more then a nuisance to the Sentinels, who either destroyed or simply ignored whatever turret was near them.

Meanwhile, the three Sentinels around the New Mutants began readied their weapons. Ray fired an electric blast but the attack had no effect on his target. Tabitha threw a basketball sized energy bomb at one Sentinel's foot but the blast did little more then burned the paint. Roberto charged at one, his body full charged. The machine sent him flying with a simple kick. "Oh man, we're dead." moaned Ray.

Sarah concentrated, pushing her will onto the electronics inside one of the Sentinels. It turned and fired its chest cannon, destroying one of the other Sentinels. The other turned and fired its missiles, destroying its corrupted counterpart. "Get out of here! I don't know how much longer I can hold it off!" yelled Sarah who froze the remaining Sentinel. It took all of her concentration just to keep it from moving, let alone making it do anything else.

"We're not leaving you." said Tabitha. Two more Sentinels attacking the Institute turned and began making their way towards them. With her last ounce of strength, Sarah made her Sentinel fire its thrusters and race towards the two approaching ones. It tackled the two to the ground. Sarah collapsed, her strength spent. Roberto grabbed her and lifted her above his shoulders. "Let's move." he said.

Suddenly, Tabitha was engulfed in green slime which froze instantly. The three Sentinels were still on the ground but one of them was able to use its stasis slime cannon. It fired another one, engulfing Ray. Another fired a missile, nearly hitting Roberto but the explosion sent him flying. Sarah and Roberto landed on the ground, unconscious. Another stasis ball engulfed Roberto.

Jamie quickly moved into action, multiplying himself to about fifty or more. Most scattered, drawing the Sentinels attention as they got to their feet. The others picked up Sarah and rushed towards the nearby woods. Once they were out of sight, the rest of the Jamies disappeared.

* * *

Xavier, Emma, Storm, and Beast all met up in the lobby. "What's going on?" demanded Storm. "We're under attack from Sentinels. Same kind as the one we fought in New York only there's a lot more of them." said Beast.

"I'll help the students." said Storm, heading towards the front entrance. "Storm wait!" yelled Xavier. The front wall exploded, knocking everyone to the ground. A Sentinel hand emerged through the wreckage, sending out robotic tentacles. Three wrapped around Storm and lifted her up into the air. Before she had a chance to fight back, the tentacles electrocuted her. Enough to knock her out. The hand retracted, taking Storm with it.

"We have to help her." said Beast, about to rush forward. Emma put a hand on his shoulder. "You can't help her now. We need to get out of here. Grab Charles and let's go." said Frost. Beast relented and picked an unconscious Charles off the floor. The three rushed into the elevator just as the Sentinels finished the rest of the wall off.

* * *

The machines quickly scanned the area, detecting the subterranean tunnels underneath. They began firing energy beams, cutting holes into the tunnels. Once they were finished, several insect-like drones broke off from their legs and swarmed into the tunnels.

The MRD surveillance officers quickly drove off as fast as they could. "They don't pay us enough for this." said one of them.

* * *

The X-Jet was about two minutes away from their destination when Logan noticed an alert flashing on the dashboard. "What's wrong?" asked Scott, sitting in the co-pilot chair. "Defcon 3 alert. The mansion's under attack." said Logan.

* * *

Emma and Beast emerged from the elevator. "Which way to the hanger?" asked Frost. "This way." said Beast, leading the way. They turned a corner and found dozens of insect-like drones all scurrying towards them. Frost turned her body into its diamond form and charged forward. Beast watched in shock as she effortlessly smashed all the machines into pieces.

"Remind me never to get into an argument with you." quipped Beast. The two rushed into the Hanger Bay. Before they could reach the Velocity, an energy beam sliced through the ceiling and cut the vehicle in half. Sentinels ripped the roof open and fired stasis slime. Beast and Emma managed to roll out of the way. More insect drones worked their way down the walls, firing their energy weapons. Emma jumped in front of Beast, the shots bouncing off her body.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" shouted Emma. One Sentinel ripped a hole wide enough and jumped inside. Frost rushed forward, smashing every drone in her way towards the Sentinel. Beast rushed towards the exit but a laser from another Sentinel above the hanger cut him off. Emma leaped onto the Sentinel's foot, smashing through its armor with kicks and punches. It fired stasis slime but Emma leaped away, the slime engulfing the machines foot. As soon as she landed, drones began jumping on her. With a single heave, she tossed them off.

Unfortunately, several robotic tendrils wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Emma struggled, her extra strength not enough to break free as the Sentinel lifted her up. "Primary target acquired." said the machine. Meanwhile, Beast was kicking away any attacking drone. Then one of the drones fired a tazer cable, hitting Beast in the back. Within seconds, hundreds of volts coursed through his body. Beast dropped Charles before managing to rip the cable off him. As soon as he did, six more cables hit his body and his body began convulsing uncontrollably. He dropped the ground, too weak to avoid getting hit with stasis slime.

* * *

The X-Jet soared overhead of the Institute where everyone stared out the window. The building was in ruins, tore apart. Memories of Mystique destroying the mansion filled all the X-Men, tears coming from a few. "What happened?" gasped Kitty.

The Jet and everyone dashed outside. "Miss Frost! Miss Frost!" yelled Catseye, rushing off in a werecat form. "I'll go with her." said Mercury. "Everybody spread out and look for survivors." said Logan. Everyone dispersed, searching through the wreckage.

"Can you sense anyone?" Scott asked Jean as they shifted through rubble together. "No. Either any survivors are unconscious or…" she said, not finishing her thought. Kurt teleported right next to them. "Hey guys, there's something you should see." he said.

He popped them over to the baseball field where metallic scraps and debris littered the area. There were no large parts, only small fragments. "Reinforced metal and nanofiber circuitry." said Scott, examining some pieces. "Not to mention large footprints." said Kurt, pointing to several large holes in the ground.

"What is it?" asked Logan, approaching them. "Only stuff that use this kind of metal and circuitry are Sentinels." said Scott, handing Wolverine the fragments. "They were waiting for us to leave." Logan growled, tossing the pieces aside.

* * *

Charles moaned as he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to find himself in some sort of round metallic room. He tried to move his hands but found them and his ankles strap down to his wheelchair with plastic flexi cuffs. Something was also strapped to his head, some kind of helmet.

He glanced around and found an unconscious Emma strapped onto an up-right stretcher. Her wrists, ankles, and head were held by metallic restraints. A metallic helmet was strapped on top of her head. Xavier tried to reach out to her with his mind but got nothing. Emma moaned as her eyes opened. "Charles? Where are we?" she asked, taking in her surroundings. "I don't know. I can't seem use my telepathy." said Xavier.

A door opened as a man in a military uniform stepped inside. The insignia on his uniform indicated he had the rank of a Colonel. "Neither of you can use your abilities. Those helmets you're wearing are neural inhibitors." said the man.

Emma gasped upon seeing him. "Stryker." she said as if she was talking to a ghost. "My dear Emma, you look radiate as ever." Stryker said, stepping towards her. Emma's body shifted into diamond form as she struggled to break free. "You really shouldn't waste your strength my dear. You're strong but you'll never break through those." said Stryker.

"Who are you? Why have you brought us here? And where are the other?" demanded Xavier. Stryker turned his attention to Charles. "Professor Charles Xavier. I've been waiting years for this moment. Emma my dear, would you do the honors of introducing us." said Stryker.

Emma was silent for a moment. "His name is William Stryker. When I first met him, he was a scientist who studied mutant phenomenon." said Frost. "I was just a Lieutenant at the time, originally given the laughable position of studying psychic phenomenon. Then I met Emma, a college student at the time. She was exactly what I needed to validate my research but as time went on, I discovered that were others and they had more then just psychic powers." said Stryker.

Stryker walked around the two as he continued. "One such person was my son Jason. He could put images inside of people's heads. He was already a problem child beforehand but his powers turned him into a monster. He tortured other children he didn't like and then he started torturing my wife and I when he didn't get his way. One time it got so bad, my beloved took one of my side arms and shot herself to get away. I was left with no choice but to smother my son with a pillow." he said.

He stopped in front of Xavier. "And from that moment on, I realized my true calling. What my mission was in life. It was to stop things like you." said Stryker. "Colonel, what happened with your son is tragic but also rare. I've seen mutants who would rather die then harm another human." replied Xavier. Stryker dashed forward and punched Charles in the face. "Charles!" yelled Emma.

"You are not human! Neither of you are!" yelled Stryker. After a moment, he managed to calm himself. "And no matter how hard you try, you never will." continued Stryker. _"Sir, they're ready for you in the Sphere."_ came someone's voice over a loudspeaker. "Time for the rehearsal. Bravo team enter." said Stryker.

Instantly, a team of heavily armed Special Forces unit stepped inside. "Gentleman, take these two to the Sphere. I'll be accompanying you." said Stryker. "Yes sir." they all said in unison. One walked behind Xavier's wheelchair and grabbed the handle while two others grabbed Emma's stretcher.

Emma and Charles were pushed out of the room into a narrow metallic corridor. Several scientists and military personal passed by, paying no mind to them. "You brought other mutants here? Where are they?" asked Xavier. "Relax Professor, they're fine. You must misunderstand my motives to think that I'm interested in killing your kind." said Stryker.

"For someone who seems to hate mutants so much, why do you have those telepathic triplets? Who are they?" demanded Emma. Xavier knew she had been on the warpath in determining who the Cuckoos were ever since that time they broke into the Institute and mind-controlled most of the X-Men and Brotherhood.

"First of all my dear, I don't hate mutants. I'm just simply aware of what they can do. And to answer your question, think about it. Why do they look so similar to you? Why do they have the same powers as you?" asked Stryker as they all entered a cargo elevator. The blood drained from Emma's face.

"They're…clones?" gasped Frost. "I saved vials of your blood when you were a volunteer during my early studies. After the death of my son, I knew I needed the right tools to fight. The cloning process was simple, it was the gene therapy that caused problems. Most of the cloned embryos died but three managed to survive and became the perfect soldiers for this war." said Stryker.

"Soldiers? They're children!" shouted Xavier. "That's funny coming from you." chuckled Stryker. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Emma was still stunned, too much at a loss for words as they entered a new hallway. "At first, I thought they would be the ones to fight but eventually I realized that my girls are far more important then that." said Stryker as they stopped in front of a pair of metallic doors.

"_Opening Sphere doors."_ came an overhead announcement. The doors opened, revealing a massive dome-like room. The thing was it looked exactly like Cerebro only much larger. At end of the walkway inside, it branched off into three smaller paths that each lead to a console.

"Welcome to the Sphere." said Stryker. The soldiers took them inside while the Colonel remained still. "This is where we must depart I'm afraid. We'll talk more after our little test." said Stryker as the doors slammed shut in front of him.

The walkway suddenly began to lower itself as Charles realized they were standing on an elevator. Underneath the control level was another suspended walkway which ended on a platform with dual obscure looking devices. The soldiers pushed them onto the platform and locked the stretcher and wheelchair to the floor. Then they hooked cables and wires up to Emma and Xavier's helmets. After they were finished, the soldiers turned and walked back to the elevator.

"It all makes sense now, Stryker had the Cuckoos steal Cerebro's plans and now he's built his own version." said Xavier. "He'll use it to track down every mutant on Earth and use the Sentinels to wipe them out." said Frost. _"I thought the clues I gave you would have connected the dots already. How frustrating it must to figure this out without reading my mind."_ mocked Stryker's voice on a loudspeaker.

"What are you doing Stryker?" said Xavier. _"I'm going to end the war before it even begins. I told you my girls were more important then just simple grunts."_ replied Stryker. The sound of a mechanical hum became louder. _"Power at twenty-five percent."_ announced a digital voice. _"You should thank me. There won't be bloodshed between humans and mutants. They will be able to live in peaceful coexistence."_ continued Stryker.

"_Power at fifty percent."_ the digitized voice announced. _"By using you two as antennae to amplify the Sphere's power, my girls will use it to enter and control the minds of every mutant on the planet."_ said Stryker. _"Power at seventy-five percent."_ _"And mutants will be become pacify, a new worker class that will benefit mankind. Following orders without regard for their own existence." _said Stryker.

"_Power at maximum."_ _"And I have the two of you to thank for it."_ laughed Stryker. "He's not going to wipe out mutant kind, he's going to turn them into mindless drones." said Frost, struggling against her restraints. She tried to turn into her diamond form when she screamed, her body turning back to normal. _"Another benefit of those restraints, they can release an electric shock milliseconds after detecting changes in human density. The voltage is more then enough to break your concentration, no matter how strong willed you are."_ mocked Stryker.

Emma tried to change again only to scream and change back. _"Initiating preliminary scan in five seconds."_ said the digital voice. _"I'm afraid this next part is going to hurt."_ said Stryker. Suddenly, Xavier and Frost screamed in intense pain.

(A nice little twist on the God Saves, Man Kills storyline. Next up, the X-Men and Hellions are forced to work with another team. This fic is called the Brotherhood so I'm not leaving them on the sidelines. Hope you enjoyed it and please review.)


	59. The Offer

(Back from hiatus. I would update everything much sooner but life seemed to always gets in the way. I was extremely motivated though by Deadpool standing outside my house with a guitar and singing Baby Come Back.)

Kitty, Kurt, and Shade all emerged from the rubble in front of Logan, Scott, and Hellion. "We checked all the tunnels and sublevels. There's no sign of anyone." said Kitty. "Which means they either got away or got taken." said Shade.

"Well at least we know no one was killed." said Scott. "No we don't. We still have no idea where they are. And unless we get something out of this dump, we'll never find them." growled James. "Hey, this dump was our home!" shouted Scott. "Shut up! Both of you!" yelled Logan "Hey, we're not one of you little screw-ups so watch your mouth old man." warned Shade. Logan's claws popped out. "Oh shiny." mocked Hellion, not concerned in the slightest. "At least we're not some narcissistic brat whose parents should have smacked him when he was younger." snapped Kitty.

The rest of the X-Men and Hellions nearby quickly all dashed toward the group, separating them so they wouldn't try to kill each other. The two teams broke apart. "Calm down you two. This isn't helping." Mercury told Hellions and Shade. "Yeah, we're gonna need their help if we're going to get Miss Frost back." said Jesse. "Pipe down squirt. We're going this my way." said Hellion. "And what your way?" asked Catseye.

"I can see why Chuck always put off bringing those guys here." growled Logan. "Hey, not all of them are bad." said Kurt. "Yeah, that rock guy's okay and Mercury too." said Kitty. "It's that telepath, card witch, and shadow freak that are the problem." said Bobby. "Like it or not, we've got to work with these people. We'll need all the help we can get if we run into any of those Sentinels." sighed Jean. Suddenly both Hellion and Jean both turned their heads toward the woods, sensing something.

"What's up?" asked Bobby. "Somebody's coming or a bunch of some bodies with the same mind." said Hellion. All the X-Men smiled. "Jamie." said Jean as they all rushed towards the woods. The Hellion quickly followed. Six Jamies emerged from the tree line carrying an unconscious Sarah above them.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys, carrying Sarah on our backs isn't as easy as it looks." said Jamie, the copies setting Sarah down before disappearing. "What happened?" asked Scott. "Well me and the others were playing baseball when a bunch of those big robots started dropping out of the sky. Sarah managed to take out a few of them before passing out. I barely managed to get away but everyone else got taken." said Jamie.

"Could anybody else have gotten away?" asked Jean. "Maybe, I know Amara left before the machines got here." replied Jamie. "Where?" asked Scott. Jamie shrugged, he had no idea. "Uhh, guys. I don't mean to interrupt here but I hear sirens." said Jesse. The sounds of police sirens become more and more distinct.

"Not again." groaned Kurt. "Everybody into the Blackbird." said Scott. The X-Men and Hellions all quickly rushed to the chopper.

* * *

"Guy! There's a car pulling in!" yelled Toad, hoping into the living room. "Probably just some schmuk who's lost and needs directions." said Chris, not interested in the slightest. "But it's a limousine and a really expensive looking one too." added Toad.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and head towards the front door. Outside, the limousine parked and a man of about fortyish stepped out with one of the most expensive tuxedos the Hood had ever seen. The driver stepped out as well and he wasn't dressed like a limousine driver. He was of Asian descent and wore an overcoat.

"Uhh, you lost?" asked Fred. "No, I am right where I want to be Mister Dukes. My name is Sebastian Shaw and I am here to make you the deal of a lifetime." said the tuxedo man.

* * *

Phoebe Cuckoo stepped inside the Sphere. The massive circular room was summary of a year of her father's work. A device that would allow mind control on a global scale. "The salvation of the human and mutant race." Father called it. The techs needed her to conduct a scan with her mind and check for any problems. Once they get the bugs out, then Phoebe and her sisters would use the device together.

On the level beneath her, Phoebe could make out Professor Xavier and Emma Frost. She remembered Frost from the time her sisters took over the Xavier Institute. When they got back from the mission, Father explained everything. How they were clones and supposed to be utilized as weapons but Father raised them like they were his own children. She believed him, Father loved her and her sisters. He never made them do anything they didn't want to.

"Hey you! What's your name?" Frost yelled up to her. Great, they could see her. Father said to ignore them, they would entice her with promises they could never hope to achieve. Phoebe ignored her as she strolled across the walkway to one of the consoles. She took a seat and put on the special helmet covered with wires all connecting back to the console.

"I know you can hear me. Please just talk to me." said Frost. Phoebe knew she shouldn't talk to her but maybe she did have a little bit of curiosity. This woman was technically her mother. "Phoebe." the Cuckoo finally blurted out.

"_Alright, just a simple telepathic sweep is all we need."_ came a techie's voice over the loudspeaker. Phoebe allowed her mind to wander, the thoughts of every human for miles flowed through her. "Listen to me Phoebe. Whatever William's told you, it's a lie." said Xavier.

Anger filled her mind, her concentration waning. She wanted to jump down there and smack him for saying that. "What did he tell you about me?" asked Frost. "Will you two just shut up?" growled Phoebe. The woman was getting irritating, distracting. Phoebe was never going to be able to concentrate if they kept this up.

"Not until you listen. William Stryker was a father to you wasn't he? Somebody who took care of you and raised you. He was kind, charismatic, and would go to the ends of the Earth to protect you right?" asked Emma. She basically summed up everything great about Father.

"And you would do anything for him? You never worried about him hitting you, the only thing you were truly afraid of was disappointing him. And he made sure you knew when he was disappointed so you would never do it again." continued Frost.

"That's what all fathers are supposed to be like." said Phoebe, trying hard to still concentrate on her sweep. "Did he want you to do things for him? Things that you might not agree with but you did them anyways just because he asked you to?" asked Frost. True, sometimes Phoebe questioned the things her father wanted her to do but she always brushed those thoughts aside.

"He did the exact same thing to me. I was young and heartbroken. My parents viewed me as an accessory in their lives and nothing more. I told the man I loved what I could do and he called me a freak. I was completely alone until I met William. When he discovered what I could do, he didn't hate me. He was the first real father figure I had every met in my life. Anything he wanted, I would do for him. But when I finally had the courage to read his mind, I could sense only contempt in his heart for me." said Frost. Phoebe realized that she was no longer concentrating, Emma's speech completely distracted her.

"Maybe for you but not for me. Not for my sisters." said Phoebe, starting the sweep again. "You're nothing but an object to him. No different then a gun or grenade. Something he can use just like I was." said Frost. "Shut up." growled Phoebe.

"Do you want to know his exact thoughts on telepaths? Genetic abnormalities that needed to be sterilized and lobotomized. " continued Emma. "I said shut up!" warned Phoebe. "He's nothing but a bitter old bigot who knows how to mask his disgust." said Frost. "SHUT UP!" screamed Phoebe, ripping her helmet off.

She converted into her diamond form and leaped down to the walkway below. Phoebe rushed forward and grabbed Emma by the throat. "Stop talking about my father." growled Phoebe. _"What are you doing? Stop!"_ came somebody's voice on the loudspeaker. Phoebe squeezed, Emma gasping for air.

"Phoebe stop. Listen to what she is saying. Did Stryker ever take you on family trips? Did he ever let you out into the public on your own?" asked Xavier. Phoebe was about to take her frustrations out on him when she noticed Emma's face. It wasn't contempt or anger in her eyes but sorrow. One might even call them compassionate. Within an instant, the anger was drained from Phoebe as her fingers loosened from Emma's throat. Frost coughed and gasped for air.

Behind her, soldiers descended from the elevator. "Is there a problem?" asked one of them. "Not anymore." said Phoebe who turned and walked towards the elevator. The soldiers followed her out.

* * *

A slight shake stirred Sarah back to consciousness. She was on the Blackbird, with the X-Men and Hellions. At least they were alright. "Hey, she's awake." said Kurt. "You alright?" asked Kitty. "Well my brain isn't trapped in a Sentinel so that's a start." said Sarah. The team quickly explained the situation to her.

"We heard you managed to take out three Sentinels. You handled them better then all of us including Logan." said Bobby. Wolverine glared at Iceman. "Of course in that first fight, you were caught off guard." Bobby quickly added.

"The Sentinels…I managed to access one of their memory banks." Sarah said, knowing she had to get to the point quickly. That got everyone's attention. "Your mind can do that?" asked Jesse. "Oh yeah, I can check my email right now if I wanted to. Anyways, I didn't exactly get an exact fix on where they came from but I did see what they did on their way to the Institute." said Sarah.

"Do you think you take a look at satellite photos and retrace their steps?" asked Scott. "We don't have anything else to go on so I better." said Sarah.

* * *

Inside Raven Manor living room, everyone sat down to hear just what Shaw had to offer. The driver (aka bodyguard) stood in the corner. "Where's Pyro?" asked Shaw. "He's out. You said something about an offer." said Pietro. "I am part of an organization that has taken a special interest in you." said Shaw.

"Well let's see. If you are the Sebastian Shaw I think you are then you're the owner of one of the largest multinational conglomerates in the world. And one of the richest men in the world. I'm guessing you're a member of the Illuminati." said Toad. "Toad, you've been listening to Pyro too much." groaned Chris.

"We're not the Illuminati, they're small time. We call ourselves the Hellfire Club, it dated back hundreds of years with it members being among the most powerful and influential figures of their respected times. We topple governments and install puppets at a whim. When revolutionaries want to take control of their country, they ask for our permission. We are the majority shareholders of every major corporation on the planet. We control Congress, the courts, the President and that's just the United States. Japan, UK, Germany, France, Russia, China, everyone of their leaders has been bought and paid for before they even get into office. We own the world and the best thing is that people don't even know we exist. And I want all of you to join us." said Shaw.

* * *

Phoebe paced back and forth in her quarters, waiting for the call. As much as she wanted to strangle both Xavier and Frost, their words got to her. If Father really cared about them, why would he send them on military missions? Why did they never go somewhere on a family trip, just the four of them? Everywhere Phoebe and her sisters went, it was always business with Father. Sure they had a lot of fun but it was never just about fun.

Phoebe heard a knock on the door. "Hey sis, they're all ready for us." said Sophie's voice carrying into the room. "I'll be out in a second." answered Phoebe.

Sarah accessed various photos with her mind, shifting through them as the others simply watched her as if she was meditating. "How long is this going to take?" asked Hellion. "As long as it does." answered Sarah.

"Might as well take a seat, this might take a while." said Logan though his tone meant it wasn't a suggestion. Hellion wanted through telekinetically toss Logan through the windshield but that wouldn't help him find Emma.

"Just remember that this partnership of ours only lasts until we find Emma. After that, we're through." said Hellion. He moved to the other side of the Jet with the rest of the Hellions joining him.

* * *

Phoebe joined her sisters inside the Sphere. The moment they were born for was about to begin. It almost felt like every event in her life had in preparation for this moment. One always sought to fulfill their purpose and what greater purpose could there be then to end the coming war.

"_Power at maximum. We're all set here, it's all on you now girls."_ said father from the speakers. The triplets walked down the walkway towards their various consoles. Phoebe stopped halfway and looked down at Emma and Xavier. The two of them were gagged now, most likely to make sure they couldn't cause anymore distractions.

Phoebe looked into Emma's eyes, wondering if she could say anything right now what she would say. _"Something wrong Phoebe?"_ asked father. "No." said Phoebe, heading towards her chair. The triplets all sat down and pull on their helmets._ "This is it girls. The moment I've been preparing you all your lives. You're about to change the world forever. I'm so proud of all you."_ said father.

Instantly, Phoebe felt a sense of euphoria as hundreds and thousands of minds instantly became connected to her mind. They were overwhelming to read and understand but the Cuckoos didn't need to. The Sphere allowed them to find every mutant in the world first and then begin altering their minds one at a time. And with the power Phoebe felt inside her at the moment, that wasn't going to take long.

* * *

Jean and Hellion dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. The teams quickly checked on their members but had no idea what was going on. "Jean, what's wrong?" asked a terrified Scott. "James, what's happening? Talk to me?" pleaded Tarot.

"Some kind…of telepathy…so powerful…can't hold it back long…" said Hellion. "Find Chris…Terrance…get to the Broth…AHHHH!" screamed Jean. "Who's Chris Terrance?" asked Jesse. "Static, he's one guy who blocked every form of telepath no matter how powerful you are." said Logan.

"Not to mention a Brotherhood member." groaned Kurt. "Do we really need to go see those guys?" asked Bobby. "No time for debate. Jean and James can't hold back whatever this is for long." said Scott, turning the Jet towards Raven Manor.

* * *

Nick Fury was shifting through paper work in his office when the whole room shook. That couldn't have been good, considering that he was in a Helicarrier. He pressed the intercom, patching him with the bridge. "This is Director Fury, report." he ordered.

"Sir Agents Danvers, Bishop, and Braddock have all gone insane. They hijacked a fighter to escape the ship but not before disabling our weapon systems and the other fighters in the bay." reported Agent Maria Hill.

"I want a status report on every asset and agent we have. Tell them this is Code Red." said Fury. "Sir?" asked Hill. "I've known these three for years Hill, something's happened to them and I want to know if it's happening to anybody else." said Fury.

* * *

Chris tilted his head up sensing something. He felt the presence of telepathy and it was incredibly powerful. It was the most powerful telepathic activity that Chris had ever felt, not even when Xavier was using Cerebro.

"Something wrong?" Kine asked him. "Yeah, somebody's trying to get inside our heads." said Chris, getting everyone's attention. "Don't tell me Professor Wheels is trying to spy on us." said Pietro.

"They're powerful but it doesn't. My powers can block telepathy no matter how powerful they are." said Chris. "Just how powerful are we talking about?" asked Shaw. "Most powerful telepathy I've ever felt." answered Chris.

"Hey guys! There's a jet landing outside, it's the Geek Mobile with wings." said Fred, looking out the window. "Can't they ever just leave us alone?" groaned Pietro. "Oh they will, c'mon." said Wanda.

* * *

The X-Men and Hellions disembarked, a few of them carrying a weakened Jean and James. They didn't take two steps from the X-Jet before they heard a whirling sound. "Incoming!" yelled Jesse. Everyone ducked as a motor hit beside them, exploding. But instead of getting killed, everyone was covered in Toad slim.

"AHHH! What is this stuff!" screamed Tarot. "Toad slime." groaned Kurt. "The smell…" groaned Mercury, trying not to vomit. "I'm gonna kill him." said Shade. "Get in line." said Kitty.

"Direct hit!" cheered Toad as he and Blob high fived each other on the rooftop. They loaded another Slime round into their motor and fired. It hit the X-Jet, not causing any damage but covering it a nice slime paint job.

"That does it." said Scott, firing an optic blast at the roof and destroying the motor. "Hey! That wasn't easy to find!" yelled Toad. "You know what's also going to be hard to find? Your corpses after I'm done with you!" yelled Shade.

A moment later, the Brotherhood all rushed outside ready for a fight. "Hey! Who are the new guys?" asked Toad. "Don't know, don't care. You people better have a good reason for showing up at our home uninvited." said Wanda.

Jean and James got to their feet, much better. "The real reason, we needed to get close to Chris." said Jean. Instantly, the other members of the Hood looked at Chris. "Okay, feeling very uncomfortable right now." he said.

"Somebody was using telepathy to attack us and unfortunately, you were the only option we had." said Scott. "Wait a minute, they tried to get inside your heads too?" asked Chris. "You're saying they already tried here?" asked Jean.

"Correction, they're still trying. They've continuously trying for the past fifteen minutes." said Chris.

"Wait a minute, back up a few steps. First of all, who are the new people and second…on second thought, how about you all wash Toad's mucus off you first." said Pietro, holding his nose.

A car pulled into the driveway and to everybody's surprise, it was John driving and Amara in the passenger seat. "What's going on here?" asked Amara, getting out of the car. "Looks like a movie called Revenge of the Amphibians." snickered John.

"Wait a minute, you two are back together?" asked Scott. John and Amara held hands. "Yep." they both answered.

(I was planning showing more mutants being taken over by the Cuckoos but writing all of these characters is hard enough. Hopefully, I can include more next chapter. Speaking of which, the three teams work together to rescue Xavier and Emma while Sebastian Shaw had his own agenda and another problem that's called Magneto.)


	60. X United

(Oops I forgot that Hellion wasn't telepathic. Oh well, he will be for this fic then I guess. It has also come to my attention that I've been calling Shade by the wrong name. Technically he's supposed to be called Spector but I just prefer to call him Shade.)

Generals Munson and Kincaid entered the Sphere's control room where Stryker was overseeing the Cuckoos inside. "Generals, I give you the weapon more powerful than our entire nuclear stockpile." said Stryker.

"What's the status?" asked Munson. "We have currently 38 percent of the entire mutant population pacified and en route to various pickup locations. Our Sentinels will retrieve them and bring them back here." answered Stryker.

"I can't believe you managed to pull this off and especially by using those things in there." said Kincaid. "As I told you before, they have their uses. Now think of the possibilities, thousands of super powered beings all willing to do whatever they are told. No nation in the world will dare defy us ever again." said Stryker.

* * *

Kayla heard a noise outside her trailer, coming from Cain's home. She looked outside to see him walking into the nearby woods and what was most confusing was that he didn't have his helmet on.

The Morlocks found themselves moving without thought or reason out of the sewers and into the woods. They must find the machines so they can be taken away to the light. The light tells them what to do, tells them how to think now. Freewill was no longer part of them, only the light.

* * *

Alex Summers didn't know why he had to get up in the middle of the night. A light guided him towards the beach. It was so beautiful that he couldn't think or care about anything else. A machine dropped from the sky, causing a tremor when it landed. The light was coming from it. He needed to let it take him. He continued to admire the light as the machine reached for him.

* * *

Sebastian Shaw watched the scene outside from a window. Shinobi nearby was trying to contact Sage. "Anything?" asked Shaw. Shinobi shook his head. Shaw tried his own contacts but only managed to get Selene on the line.

"Selene, what's going on? Why can't I get any through to anyone?" demanded Shaw. "Some kind of telepathic presence is dominating their minds, controlling them. If it weren't for my magic, I would have succumbed as well. I've been able to access some security on several of our facilities and they're all the same. Mutants all dropping whatever they are doing and leaving." said Selene.

"How could someone with this much power exist and none of us knew about it?" asked Shaw. "None of you know about what?" demanded a voice behind him, Wolverine. "I'll have to call you back? I have company." said Shaw before hanging up.

"What are you doing with the Brotherhood?" demanded Logan. "Mister Logan, so nice to finally meet you. My name is-" said Shaw.

"I know exactly who you are and you didn't answer my question. What are you doing with the Brotherhood?" demanded Logan. Shinobi stepped in front of him. Logan's claws popped out and Shinobi drew two small Tanto daggers. "Calm down you two. Now's not the time for this." said Shaw.

"Let me guess, you're here to bring the Brotherhood into your little circle. These kids might be the embodiment of juvenile delinquency but I think they'd pass if they knew just how much blood is on your hands." snapped Logan. "We all have blood on our hands." shot back Shaw with a smirk.

"The difference is that I'm not proud of it." said Logan.

* * *

"What is it with girls and bad guys? Kitty and Lance, Rogue and Gambit, Amara and John, what's next? Storm and Sabertooth?" Scott mumbled to himself. All the X-Men and Hellions had finished washing themselves of Toad slime. The three groups all stayed away from one another except for John and Amara who were having some "private time" alone. Each team hanging out in a different area of the mansion while Sarah went through photos to find where the Sentinels came from.

"I hear you. I'll never understand it myself." said Kurt. Scott didn't actually mean for anybody to hear that. Always be careful of whatever comes out of your mouth.

Logan walked inside the room and looked even angrier than usual. "Hey Logan, any idea who that guy in the suit is in the Hood's living room?" asked Scott.

"His name is Sebastian Shaw and he's really bad news. He's the leader of a group of mutants called the Hellfire Club. They're kinda like Magneto since they believe in mutant superiority only instead of brute force, they plan on taking over with money and backroom deals." said Logan.

"So these guys are like the mutant version of the Illuminati?" asked Bobby. "Something like that." replied Logan.

"So what's he doing here?" asked Jean.

"Most likely recruiting. But if the Brotherhood knows what's best for them, they'll stay as far away from him as possible." said Logan.

* * *

Jesse Bedlam was wandering the halls. The place was so huge and Jesse didn't want to admit it but he was lost. He turned a corner and found a Brotherhood member starring at him. It was if the guy was waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, you are?" asked Jesse. "The name's Chris. And I've been scratching my head for the past hour trying to figure out where I remember you from." he replied.

"Remember me? But we've never met before." said Jesse. "You're right. We've never met but I still know your face." said Chris. He pulled out a photo and to Jesse's surprise, it was him. Chris had a photo of Jesse's last year in middle school.

"Why do you have this?" demanded Jesse. "Funny story. It was my dad's attic. He was a telepath who thought he was the second coming or least that's the way he acted. My mother was always in denial but my old man was never faithful. I on the other hand may have been young but I wasn't stupid. Later on, he showed me this picture and said that your mother should be grateful for having his child." said Chris.

"That…we…we're brothers?" gasped Jesse. The nearby lights began to flicker. "NO! We're not. We're only half and the half we share isn't exactly my favorite part. You look just like my old man and even now, I see him when I look at you. And I feel that same anger, that same disgust that I felt about him." said Chris. "Then? Why would you even show this to me?" asked Jesse.

"Maybe I just want to get this off my chest. Maybe I wanted to see your reaction. Maybe I wanted to finally get some answers about who you were. Too many maybes if you ask me. I said what I wanted to now don't talk to me ever again." said Chris. He stormed off, shoving Jesse aside.

* * *

Hellion was finishing cleaning the last of the filth off his combat uniform when he "bumped" into Sebastian Shaw. "Sir." James said, quickly straightening himself out. "Don't call me that. I'd prefer the X-Men and Brotherhood not know about our completely. At least not yet. From this moment on, you and your team doesn't know me." said Shaw.

"I can do that but I don't understand." said Hellion. "You and your team are my ace in the hole. And I don't want Wolverine and anyone else to know I have it." said Shaw.

* * *

"Got it!" yelled Sarah. A moment later, everyone assembled in the library where Sarah showed a picture of a mountainous region. "The Sentinels originated from here. The Back Alleghany Mountain in West Virginia." she continued. "We can be there in under an hour with the Blackbird." said Scott. "Well then what are we waiting for, let's go." said Hellion.

"Well then good luck now scram." said Pietro. "We're going." said Wanda. All the Brotherhood members looked at her stunned. "Why?" asked Kine. "Of course we're going." said Toad, quick to take Wanda's side. "Because you think whoever's causing all this chaos is just going to leave us alone just because we don't fight them?" Wanda said. "Good point." mumbled Kine.

"So are we." said Shaw standing in the doorway with Shinobi. "Not a chance." said Logan. "Stow it claws. We're going to need all the help we can get." said Tarot. Logan growled but relented.

"Well then, no point in wasting any more time. Let's go." said Shaw.

* * *

Stryker continued to go over the various data being collected from the Sphere, specifically the mutants that have been identified and pacified. He went through the list but something bothered him. He couldn't find the rest of the X-Men or any of the Hellions. Somehow, they've been to hide from the Cuckoos. That left only one possible conclusion. Mister Terrance. The Anti-telepath.

"Lieutenant Cross, I want our reserve Sentinels launched immediately. The target is the Brotherhood's Raven Manor." order Stryker. "But sir, the rest of the Sentinels are already in the field collecting the mutants. Without the reserves, we'll be defenseless." said Cross.

"We have something other then machines to guard us now. Recall the Sentinels." said Stryker.

* * *

The Blackbird had never been more crowded. The X-Men, Brotherhood, Hellions, Shaw, and Shinobi. It was miracle they could all fit.

"We would have more room if we left wideload here back at the manor." grunted Shade, taking his frustration out on Blob. The large mutant responded by ripping Shade's seat with him still on it and tossing it to the other side of the jet. "Hey!" yelled Shade, entering shadow form. "Save aggression for big robots." said Catseye. "Oh, I'll save it for somebody alright." growled Shade.

"Are you sure we can trust that guy Logan?" Scott asked, referring to Shaw. "Not for a second. Don't ever turn your back on him. The guy wouldn't know loyalty if hit him in the head." said Logan.

"Are you okay? You look a little nervous." Kurt asked Mercury. "I'm fine. Just hoping Miss Frost is alright." she answered but Kurt didn't believe her. The thing was, she started getting distant from him the moment she saw Shaw.

Chris caught Jesse staring at him and sent a wave of psy static at him. The younger mutant groaned and quickly looked away. "Dude? What is up with you? You've been acting cagey ever since we've left." said Kine. "Let's just call it some unresolved issues." replied Chris.

* * *

"Sir, I'm detecting changes in air density but radar is clear. If these are the mutants, we don't have any Sentinels to combat them." reported Cross. "Lieutenant, order our new recruits to the front entrance. This should be quite a show." smiled Stryker.

* * *

"The telepathic signal is coming from that area." said Chris, pointing out the windshield to the side of a mountain. "They probably built the base into the mountain. More secure than just being underground." said Logan, piloting the ship towards a nearby clearing. He set the jet down and everyone quickly disembarked except for Sarah and Jamie. They were told to stay put.

"You know for some so called secret base, I was kind of expecting us to have more trouble." said Kitty. "Uhh…will that do?" asked Rockslide. He pointed to a clearing up ahead where a large group of mutants were standing side by side and they did not look friendly.

It was Storm, Beast, Tabitha, Roberto, Ray, Juggernaut, Alex Summers, Spyke, Callisto, Scaleface, Fascade, Sunder, Psylocke, Ms. Marvel, and Bishop.

"They've been taken over." said Jean, sensing the telepathic influence inside of them. "Can't you just block it out Chris?" asked Kine. "I can block the telepathy controlling them but not the changes that's been done to their minds." said Chris.

"Then I guess we're in for a fight." said Fred, cracking his knuckles. "We can't fight them. Many of them are our friends." protested Kurt. "Don't tell us that, tell them." said Catseye.

The controlled mutants powered themselves, ready for a fight. Logan went flying as Juggernaut came rushing through. Everyone quickly scattered, both sides clashing. Fascade appeared behind Nightcrawler and grabbed him. Kurt teleported into the air and the two dropped down with Fascade on the bottom and taking the brunt of the fall.

Scaleface turned into her dragon form and chased after Cyclops, spewing fire at him. John and Amara stepped in front of the flames, their bodies immune to the heat. With a wave of his hand, John extinguished the fire. "Luv, care to show Puff here what a real inferno is?" asked John.

"Sure thing." said Amara. Her body turned into molten rock as she summoned a volcanic eruption below Scaleface. The eruption went the dragon flying through the air and crashing landing through some trees. Scaleface fell unconscious, returning to her human form.

"I am so hot for you right now." smirked John. "Oh get a room you two." groaned Scott. Psylocke just out of the shadows towards and leaped towards John and Amara, shoving two psy blades into their heads. They slumped to the ground, unconscious. Betsy next turned her to attention to Scott. He reached to fire an optic blast but Psylocke tossed a psy ninja star that hit Scott's hand, paralyzing it. The next thing Scott knew Psylocke was suddenly levitated into the air, immobilized. Jean stepped forward and sent a telekinetic blast that sent Betsy flying.

Catseye was swatted aside by Juggernaut. Shade popped up behind him in shadow form only to get shot with an energy blast from Bishop. The bright light torn Shade's body. He screamed as he resumed his human form. Juggernaut turned his attention to Jesse. He charged forward only to scream in pain from psy static, holding his head as he stumbled to the ground. "This doesn't change anything between us." Chris said, grabbing Jesse and pulling him away from the fight.

Juggernaut got back to his feet and turned his attention to Sebastian Shaw. He charged forward and threw a punch, only to have it stop dead on Shaw's chest. Sebastian absorbed all the kinetic energy from it and used it to toss Juggernaut into the air. Bishop fired an energy blast at Sebastian but he simply absorbed that as well. Shinobi phased through the ground behind Bishop and then knocked him out. "We're heading inside." said Sebastian. "What about the others?" asked Shinobi. "They'll survive…or not. Right now we have more pressing matters to deal with." said Sebastian without a hint of concern in his voice.

"Can't hit me Daniels. I must say, I can't tell the difference when you had a brain and now. Oh wait, you never had one to begin with." mocked Pietro, avoiding all of Spyke's attacks with ease. The distraction was more than enough for Fred to come charging in and ran through Spyke like a linebacker from hell. The blow knocked him at least twenty feet.

Storm created a hailstorm and shot lightning everywhere. Toad, Kurt, Kitty, and Kine all quickly took cover. "Can't you just make her stop?" Kitty asked Kine. "Stopping her hands doesn't exactly work with her." Kine replied. Wanda stepped forward, ready to face Storm head on. Storm sent hail, lightning, everything weather related but none of it hit Wanda. Then Wanda used her powers to bend the lightning and start collecting it into one giant electric ball. She sent the ball right at Storm, shocking the woman. Storm dropped like a fly, only for Kurt to safely catch her. "That's my cupcake. Breaking the laws of physics with style." said Toad. Wanda groaned in annoyance.

Hellion easily knocked Callisto around with his telekinesis. Rockslide knocked out Sunder with a few punches. Mercury wrapped herself around Ms. Marvel, only to for Marvel to shoot out an energy blast from her entire body. Cyclops shot an optic blast at her but that did nothing. She returned firing, only for her blasts to get deflected by Jean. Marvel shot forward, dashing right into Jean's telekinetic shield. She pounded away, starting to weaken Jean. The telepath converted her telekinetic shield into a battering ram. Cyclops then shot an optic blast that send the telekinetic ram right into Marvel. The impact knocked the Shield agent over the tree tops. Mercury managed to put herself back together. "Wow what a ride." she commented.

Kine used his powers to make Tabitha make an energy bomb that exploded on Roberto, knocking him out of commission. Then Kine just simply freezed Tabitha in place before Toad dropkicked her. Kitty charged right through Ray's electric shocks and delivered a roundhouse kick, taking him out of the fight. Bobby froze Beast in place, immobilizing him.

"C'mon Alex, it's me your brother." pleaded Scott to his younger brother. Havoc just continued to try and blast Scott before Hellion hit him with telekinesis. Alex was slammed into a tree, violently. "Hey! You didn't have to hurt him that much!" yelled Scott, half ready to shoot Hellion. "He reminded me of you and don't ever tell me what to do again!" yelled Hellion. The two were about to go at it when Jean telekinetically separated them. "Will you two knock it off?" she yelled.

"Did I miss anything?" asked Logan, stumbling back into the clearing. A hit from Juggernaut doesn't heal as quickly as he admitted. "Well that's everybody. Cool mutants one, zombie mutants zero." said Bobby. Just then, Sentinels started dropping from the sky. Twenty in all.

"You were saying?" gulped Toad. Marvel, Juggernaut, and several other of the controlled mutants woke up or broke free, quickly joining up with the Sentinels. "I guess this is round two." trembled Kurt. "More accurately the oh crap round." said Pietro.

The Sentinels suddenly twitched, violently shaking. They were all ripped into pieces by some unknown force. The pieces then overwhelmed and trapped every controlled mutant, restraining them. To everyone's surprise, a figure floated down to the ground.

"Father?" asked Wanda. "Yes. Now would someone care to explain what is going on?" demanded Magneto.

(I know I know, this particular storyline has been going on much longer than any of the previous ones but I consider this one my favorite so you'll have to pardon me if I go a little overboard on it. Holy crap that last fight almost made my head explode with all the characters I had to use in it. The three teams might have worked well for the moment but next chapter, that's all about to change.)


	61. Operation Wildfire

(I made a promise to OMAC0001 that I would have an update by today and I keep my promises.)

"What did you do with Rogue?" demanded Scott, ready to rip off his visor and hit Magneto with a full blast. Wanda stepped in front of him, ready for a fight. "Why is she helping him?" Toad whispered to Pietro. "Must have something to do with Father changing her memories. It doesn't matter. If Wanda's helping him then we're helping him." replied Pietro, keeping his voice down. The other members of the Hood nodded and quickly got in line beside her.

The rest of the X-Men got behind Scott. "Where is she!" yelled Nightcrawler. "Not to give your empty threats merit but to answer your question, she is safe and recuperating." answered Magneto.

"You mean getting her brain warped just like Lorna!" shouted Kitty. Magneto glared at her. "Everything I do is for the greater good of our kind. My Acolytes turned on me and Exodus managed to track the telepathic influence to this region. Now I want to know what is going on right now." demanded Magneto.

The X-Men didn't like it but the last thing they wanted was to get into a fight with Magneto. Especially after he just took out every single Sentinel and mutant that were about to wipe the floor with them.

"A bunch of Sentinels kidnapped several of us including Chuck and Emma Frost." said Logan. Magneto's eyes narrowed as the mention of her. "We managed to track them here before some kind of massive telepathic power attacked us. If it wasn't for Christopher Terrance, we'd be under its control." he continued.

Magneto glanced at Chris. "What do I always get attention I never want?" he mumbled to himself. "Yeah they came running to our doorstop begging for our help on their hands and knees." mocked Toad. "Them, those other guys, and Shaw." said Kine.

"What? Sebastian Shaw? He's here?" yelled Magneto. "Uhh…yes." gulped Kine. Magneto glanced around. "Where is he?" he demanded. That's when everybody noticed some other people were missing. "Where are the Hellions?" asked Bobby. Other than Jesse, the Hellions were gone.

* * *

Sebastian Shaw walked through the corridors in a calm stride. Soldiers fired automatic rifles at him which only made him stronger. He absorbed the kinetic force of every bullet, causing them all to bounce harmlessly off his body. With a single footstep, he unleashed kinetic energy into the ground that caused a tremor. The ceiling above the soldiers collapsed, killing them.

"Shinobi. Have you located their main server yet?" Shaw asked into his comlink. _"No sir. I'll keep looking."_ reported Shinobi. If they could just find that server, the greatest weapon in the world would be at Shaw's fingertips. He turned a corner and to his surprise, Sabertooth was standing there. "Well well. Look like the Magneto dragged in," mocked Shaw. It looks like Magneto's followers were under telepathic control.

Creed lunged at him but Shaw swatted him aside like a bug. Blink teleported behind him and caught him in a chokehold. Shaw threw her off him but she teleported in mid-air and appeared behind him again. Every time he tried to hit her, she teleported away. She tried to get behind him again but Shaw expected it and caught her by the throat. "Annoying little fly." Shaw said as he started squeezing.

A metallic bar flew up to him and wrapped around Shaw's neck. He struggled with it and saw Polaris standing in the hallway. Using his absorbed energy, he ripped the bar in half and tossed the pieces aside. But the distraction allowed Sabertooth to leaped towards him and slash Shaw's chest. Sebastian yelled in pain as he stumbled back with bloody claw marks on his chest.

Shinobi phased through the floor and quickly grabbed Sebastian before phasing through a wall into another room. "You were supposed to be looking for the server." groaned Sebastian. "I did. I just always searched near you." said Shinobi. Ever the bodyguard. "We need to get you out of here now." said Shinobi.

* * *

"Magneto? How are we supposed to stop him?" yelled Kincaid. Stryker sighed in annoyance. "We designed Sentinels composed of carbon fiber to combat him but unfortunately, they're at another location." said Stryker. He pressed a few buttons on a console before an alarm went off. _"Self-destruct activated. All personal evacuate. You now have twenty minutes to generator overload. There will be no further warnings."_ came from overhead speakers.

"What are you doing?" demanded Munson. "Starting over. We'll proceed to the backup site and restart the process there." said Stryker.

* * *

"_Change of plan girls. Meet me at the helipad."_ said Stryker's voice from inside the Sphere. The Cuckoos quickly removed their helmets. "What about them?" Phoebe asked, pointing to Emma and Xavier. _"Leave them. Thanks to you, we've identified dozens of telepaths that are ideal candidates to replace them."_ replied Stryker.

"But they'll die." said Phoebe. _"It's safer this way. The two of them won't become potential problems. Now get moving."_ ordered Stryker before the mic cut out. Her sisters dashed to the doors but Phoebe glanced down at the captives. Why should she feel anything for them? It wasn't like they did anything for her or her sisters. But the thought of leaving them there to die just didn't sit right with Phoebe.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She changed into her diamond form and leaped down onto the lower platform. She dashed over to Emma and punched the electric console on her chair. Emma's restraints unlocked and she pulled the gag out of her mouth after getting to her feet.

"Thank you." Emma said before she glanced up and saw that Phoebe was already at the elevator leaving. "Wait!" Emma called out but Phoebe was gone. Emma groaned but quickly rushed back to Charles. She removed his gag and helmet.

"We have to go after her." said Emma. "I can't sense Phoebe, her sisters, or anyone for that matter. This entire base must be shielded from telepathy. We won't be able to track them and this base will explode in less than twenty minutes. We need to leave now." said Xavier. As much as Emma hated to admit it, Charles was right.

* * *

"Self-destruct? Do all secret bases have a self-destruct button just lying around?" moaned Mercury. The Hellions managed to sneak inside of the base while the X-Men and Brotherhood argued with each other. Now they were beating the crap out of a bunch of Special Forces soldiers.

Rockslide finished the last them of them off with a punch. "Let's move it. The basement is the most secure level of the base. That's where they'll be holding Miss Frost." said Hellion. The team quickly rushed to a large blast door. Tarot pulled out a bull card. It glowed and a large bull appeared in front of her. It rammed the large metal door right off its hinges.

"_Hellion do you copy?"_ came a transmission from Hellion's radio. It was Shaw. James quickly answered it. "Yes sir." he replied. _"I have a new mission for you. I need you to find the main server and download all of its files."_ ordered Shaw.

"Fine. We'll split up then…" Hellion started to say. _"This takes priority over everything. Including Emma."_ said Shaw. "What?" yelled Catseye. "He can't be serious." said Mercury. "Forget it." said Rockslide. Tarot and Shade both looked at each other, both very uneasy about the situation. "With all due respect sir we can do both." said Hellion.

"_The Acolytes are here and are under the human's control. A splintered team won't be able to handle them. Those files contain the plans to a device that amplifies a telepath's power like Cerebro. With this weapon in our possession, we can control the world. Everything you have ever fought for will finally be achieved."_ said Shaw.

"No! Won't leave Miss Frost!" yelled Catseye. She transformed in a panther form and started to rush off. Hellion lifted her into the air telekinetically. "What are you doing?" demanded Rockslide. "I'm sorry. But he's right." said Hellion. He entered the minds Catseye, Rockslide, and Mercury and activated a psychic programming behavior installed on every soldier of the Hellfire Club. Instantly the three became quiet and stood at attention. The whole purpose of the programming was to ensure loyalty by force when necessary.

Shade and Tarot were horrified. "Are you crazy?" yelled Shade. "This is wrong Julian." said Tarot. "You think I don't know that! Our duty is to the Inner Circle. Not just one member. I don't like this anymore then you do but we have a job now move it!" yelled Hellion.

* * *

"Stay out of my way." said Magneto as he levitated towards the base. "Something tells me he's going to be just fine without us." said Toad. "C'mon. We've got to catch up with him." said Scott. "You do that. We'll wait with the ship." said Pietro.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" groaned Kurt. "The Hood knows better than to get involved in a fight that no longer requires our attention." said Fred. "John?" Amara said, throwing a look at Pyro. "Okay okay. I'll go." sighed John. "Glad to see she's broken you in." mocked Kine. "What about me?" asked Jesse. "You're staying behind." said Chris and it was not a request. "I'm coming too." said Wanda.

"What?" asked Pietro. "This is something I have to do. Don't worry about me. Besides, someone needs to make sure they don't follow us inside." answered Wanda, pointing to the mutants that were all wrapped up in metal thanks to Magneto.

"Alright sis." sighed Pietro. He glared at Cyclops. "You better bring her back in one piece." he warned. "Let's move." said Scott. The X-Men, Pyro, and Wanda rushed into the base.

* * *

Sarah and Jamie sat inside the X-Jet completely bored. Not that they needed the help though if the Brotherhood were staying back. _"Sarah, can you access the base's main server with your mind?"_ came a radio transmission from Cyclops. Sarah smiled, happy to finally help out.

She stretched out her mind and files and programs ran through brain. Sarah skimmed through security, personal files, blueprints, anything that might be relevant. And then she ran into something unexpected. "I don't know where the Professor and Miss Frost are but I did find out something you should know." said Sarah.

"_What is it?"_ asked Scott. "The people here have their own version of Cerebro. Granted it's much bigger and designed for three people instead of one but it's definitely Cerebro." said Sarah. _"How do they even know how to build it?"_ asked Kurt.

* * *

"The Cuckoos. They stole the blueprints last year when they took over the Institute." said Jean. "And now whoever they work for built their own version. Using it to amplify their powers enough to take control of every mutant on the planet." said Logan. "We've got to destroy it and any blueprints that may exist." said Scott.

"_Guys. We have a problem. Someone just accessed the blueprints and copied a file onto a disk."_ reported Sarah. "Who?" asked Bobby. _"It's…Julian. Julian Keller. Hellion."_ answered Sarah. "That slimy little worm." said Pyro.

"Let's split up. Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Wanda, you're with me. We'll take care of Keller. Logan take Bobby, Amara, and John and find the Professor." said Scott.

* * *

Emma pushed Xavier's wheelchair through the corridors. Thankfully, they hadn't run into any security. Most likely they all evacuated once the self-destruct was announced. "You'd think Stryker would at least make things a little harder for us." muttered Emma.

Almost on que, dozens of insect-like robots swarmed into the hallway. "Not those things again." groaned Emma. She turned into her diamond form and charged right into them. "Go! I'll handle these things!" Frost yelled to Xavier.

Within seconds, hundreds of more drones flooded into the hallway. Despite being able to wipe out dozens at a time, Emma quickly found herself overwhelmed. Then all the drones started vibrating violently and fell into pieces. A nearby metallic wall opened up as Magneto stepped through. "Hello Charles." said Eric.

"Eric? How did get here?" asked Xavier.

"Exodus managed to track down this place." said Magneto, glaring at Emma.

"Well your timing is impeccable." said Frost.

"If I had known you were here, I would have taken my time." said Magneto. Sabertooth, Blink, Lorna, Domino and Gambit stepped inside the hallway and none of them looked friendly. Before they could attack, Xavier entered their minds and removed the changes the Cuckoos made.

"What the…not again." groaned Gambit, knowing he got mind controlled again. "Father? What's going on here?" asked Lorna. "I'll explain later." said Magneto. With a wave of his hand, the ceiling above them opened up. The floor where everyone stood on broke off, turning into a floating metallic platform.

"I believe it is time for us to leave." said Magneto.

* * *

"_Guys. I've got good news. Magneto's back and he's brought the Professor and Emma with him."_ reported Sarah. "Good. Now we just need to deal with the Hellions and Shaw." said Scott. "You think Shaw made some sort of deal with the Hellions to make them do this?" asked Wanda. "Maybe." said Jean.

"I still don't get it. Why would Catseye, Mercury, and Rockslide go along with this? I thought they wanted to get Emma back more than anything." said Kitty. "Yeah. This doesn't sound like them." said Kurt.

A shadow moved along the wall behind them. It leaped off the wall and punched Wanda, knocking her to the ground. Everyone turned around just as it grew in size and smacked everyone. The group fell to the ground just as a giant sledgehammer appeared above them. It dropped down, almost crushing them before Jean managed to stop it with her telekinesis.

"That was just a warning shot." said Hellion, stepping out into view as the rest of the Hellions joined up with him. Tarot made the hammer disappear as every got to their feet except for Wanda. Shade made sure to hit her harder than anyone else.

"Why are you doing this? I thought you came here to same Emma." said Scott. Shade and Tarot seemed to flinch at that comment while the others didn't blink an eye. "Plans change. This is bigger than just Miss Frost. The humans were planning on turning us into their slaves. With the plans to the same device, we can do the same thing to them." said Hellion.

"You mean just like what you're doing with Catseye, Rockslide, and Mercury right now?" snapped Jean. Julian was starting to turn pale in anger. "My job is to make sure this team stays on the same page. Even if it means doing this to them. I didn't want to do this but I had to. Now stay out of our way. This place will blow in just a couple of minutes." said Hellion.

Kurt teleported Hellion and kicked him in the back, knocking him down. Rockslide threw a chunk of his own body at Kitty who easily phased through it. Shade disappeared into his shadow form and Tarot pulled out a sword card. A massive sword appeared above Jean and tried to swipe at her. Mercury jumped onto Kurt and hardened herself, preventing him from moving or breathing. Kitty phased through and pulled Kurt out. He gasped for air just as Shade appeared behind her and backhanded both of them. Kitty was out but Kurt teleported her away before Shade could finish the job.

Scott fired optic blast after optic blast at Rockslide but every chunk of his body that got shot off just seemed to magnetically float back into place. "Alright then. Gloves off." said Scott. He pulled his visor off and fired a full optic blast. Rockslide's entire body was blown into pieces. Scott quickly pulled his visor back on and rushed back Rockslide's remains as they started to pull themselves back together. Shade appeared in front of him but Scott's optic blast tore apart his shadow body and he was forced to resume human form. Scott punched him as he ran by after Hellion.

Jean continued to battle every single construct Tarot threw at her. Now she was avoiding a giant sword, a large panther, a mounted knight on a horse, and a floating spear at the same time. Wanda regained her senses and dispersed all of them with a hex bolt. Then she concentrated on Tarot's cards and caused them all to spontaneously combust. Tarot screamed, tossing her cards away and then holding her burnt hands. Jean finished her off with a simple psychic blast. She glanced at Wanda and the two gave each other a nod.

Kurt tried to escape from Mercury but she could move almost as fast as he could teleport. She managed to form a tendril and wrap it around Kurt's leg. She hurled him into a wall and then spun him around to hit the wall again. Only this time, he teleported both of them into the air outside the base. Mercury lost her grip and dropped to the ground. Kurt teleported back inside. Kitty regained consciousness and phased Rockslide through the ground, trapping him underneath the floor.

* * *

Scott managed to track Hellion into a large filled with shipping containers. He moved slowly, expecting an attack any second. The nearest stack of containers tipped over and nearly crushed him if he didn't fire an optic blast. Another container came flying at him, forcing him to roll out of the way. That's when he saw Hellion. "To think that Emma actually compared the two of us once." Julian spat.

Scott found himself flying into a wall, being crushed against it. "You're right about one thing Julian. We're nothing alike." said Scott. He fired a blast at the ceiling above Julian, causing parts of the roof to fall. Hellion used his powers to send the debris harmlessly aside, giving Scott time to fire another blast that knocked Julian into the wall opposite. He dropped to the ground, the data disc falling out of his uniform.

Scott aimed his visor and blasted the disc. "NO!" yelled Hellion. He sent Scott into the wall, using telekinesis to push Cyclops harder and harder. Scott tried to move his hands but Hellion learned his lesson from the last time. Three claws sliced through the wall next to Scott as Logan came roaring into the room. Bobby, Amara, and Pyro rushed into beside him and fired their powers at Hellion.

Realizing this wasn't a fight he could win, Hellion flew towards the nearest exit. "You okay kid?" Logan asked Scott, helping him to his feet. "Yeah and I managed to destroy the disc." said Scott. "Good then let's bolt." said John.

* * *

Rockslide managed to break free and quickly grabbed Tarot. Shade reappeared with Mercury and the team quickly retreated. Jean, Kitty, Kurt, and Wanda didn't bother running after them. The rest of the X-Men rushed in, helping a wounded Scott.

"Is he alright?" asked Jean, quick to check up on him. "He'll live. Elf, think you can teleport us all?" said Logan. Kurt shrugged as everybody started holding hands. Nightcrawler teleported them all away.

* * *

Waiting inside of a combat helicopter that Shinobi procured, Sebastian sat inside finishing bandaging his ribs. He noticed the Hellions rushing onto the helipad and every single one of them were injured. They quickly jumped inside before Sebastian gave Shinobi the order to take off. "Where's the data?" demanded Sebastian.

"Gone. Cyclops destroyed it." groaned Hellion. To everyone's surprise, Sebastian didn't seem angry. "Such a shame. I had such high hopes for Summers and his team. We'll just have to deal with them when the time comes." said Shaw.

* * *

The X-Men all reappeared next to the X-Jet where Magneto, the Acolytes, the Brotherhood, Xavier, and Emma Frost all waited. The nearby mountain exploded, not nuclear but more than enough to destroy everything inside of it. Everyone watched harmlessly from a distance. "Sis!" yelled Pietro, rushing up and hugging her.

"It would seem that the war has already started." Magneto told Xavier. "This just the actions of a few Magnus and they were stopped. Don't make this worse." said Xavier. "Fine. Stay blind until they threw into death camps for all I care. Blink, get us out of here." said Magneto. The Acolytes quickly surrounded him and prepared to teleport. Lorna shared a look with Xavier before they disappeared.

"So…what now?" asked Toad. "Father's right about one thing. This will only escalate." said Wanda.

* * *

On their transport ride, all of the Cuckoos were asleep except for Phoebe. "We'll reach the backup site in a few hours…don't worry sir. This will only be a delay. We'll be back up and running by the end of the day…thank you sir." Stryker said into his satphone, talking to probably some member of the Joint Chiefs. He hung up and noticed Phoebe's glance.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. "What happens to us once we've finished pacifying the rest of the mutants?" Phoebe asked. "What do you mean?" frowned Stryker. "Do we go to school? Do we finally go out somewhere as a family?" asked Phoebe.

"My dear. You and your sisters are far too valuable to risk any of that. I realize this must be very difficult for you but be patient." said Stryker. If he said that a few days ago, she would have believed him. But not today. Before he said anything else, Phoebe entered the co-pilot's mind. He pulled out his tazer and reached back and zapped Stryker in the neck. Phoebe kept her sisters asleep, their minds vulnerable to her in their slumber. "What…are you doing?" gasped Stryker.

"Your cerebral implants that block telepathy, they don't work very well after an electric shock. So let me explain what is going to happen. We're all going on a nice family vacation. Maybe the Bahamas. We're going to have a lot of fun there and you will be loving and caring towards us from on. You will be the father that my sisters need." said Phoebe. Stryker screamed as Phoebe entered his mind.

* * *

The X-Jet landed right outside Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy. Emma was the first one outside. When she was told about what Julian did, she didn't believe it. Hellion was headstrong and arrogant but he would never betray her like this. He would never mind control his own team, people he considered his own friends.

She knew her team got out before the explosion but that didn't stop one thing that nagged at Emma's mind. She knew Julian would have only done this if Sebastian ordered it. The fact that he hadn't contacted Emma at the moment was very troubling. Unless he was severing ties. As soon as she rushed inside her school, Emma knew it was the truth.

All the students and faculty were gone. The building was completely empty, most likely cleared out within a matter of hours. The Hellfire Club no longer trusted her and now they took away her students. "NO!" screamed Emma.

* * *

After Magneto and the Acolytes left, SHIELD showed up and quickly figured out what happened. Fury agreed to transport every mind controlled mutants back to their respected homes. As soon as the base was destroyed, every one of them returned to normal.

Everything was going fine until Emma demanded they detour to her school. Xavier agreed and once they arrived, they found the place empty. "I'm not even getting a scent inside there. Looks like they moved everything and scrubbed the place down." Logan told Xavier. "Sebastian obviously thought that Emma would retaliate for betraying him." said Xavier. He made sure the two of them were alone during their conversation. "So he left Emma out in the cold. What do we do?" asked Logan. "Tell everyone the truth." said Charles.

Xavier summoned the X-Men and Emma. "Professor what happened here?" asked Scott. "Sebastian Shaw happened." growled Emma. "What does he have to do with this?" asked Bobby. "Emma is…or should I say was a part of a group of wealthy mutants that used their power and influence to conquer the world." said Xavier.

"What?" all of the X-Men, except for Xavier, Logan, Storm, and Beast were all stunned. "And you actually brought her to the Institute!" shouted Kitty. "Charles and I have friends for years. Just because I joined them didn't mean that changed. I was hoping to use the Hellfire Club's resources and influence to prevent mutants from being persecuted just like all of you." said Emma.

"And now?" asked Scott. "They've cut me off. They've liquidated all of my assets including my business. I have no more money and worst of all, they took my students." said Emma.

"Which is why I want her to join us. Things will only get worse. The Hellfire Club probably considers us a threat now instead of potential allies and Magneto is preparing for something. I could see it in his eyes." said Xavier.

"Not to mention there's still Sinister and Apocalypse too." said Beast. "We're going to need all the help we can get." said Storm. Slowly, one by one, the students nodded. "What about me?" asked Jesse Bedlam. "You're welcome to stay with us if you wish." said Xavier.

"But stay where Professor? Our home was destroyed again." said Tabitha. "We'll rebuild it and make sure it's ready for anything next time. I understand if anyone doesn't want to come back. I haven't been able to guarantee your safety but I will do the best I can do." said Xavier. "Just let me order the defense systems." smirked Logan.

"I guess you can count me in then. At the very least it'll put a roof over my head and help find where Shaw took my students." said Emma. "Welcome to the X-Men." said Scott.

(So now Emma Frost is a member of the X-Men and Jesse is one of the New Mutants. Next chapter will be a dual storyline. The X-Men take a vacation on a cruise but find someone or something stalking them and Kine breaks his father out of prison which leads to a surprise guest swinging their way. Please review.)


	62. Sinister Six

Benjamin Kine knew he was taking a huge gamble but he had been doing that whole life. Sitting in the back of a prison transport van he glared at the only other passenger, the guard. "How come the State Attorney General wants to see you so quickly and quietly?" asked the guard. "Must be my charming personality." smiled Ben.

The guard scoffed in annoyance. "Wouldn't have anything to do with your little testimony about some kind of boss of bosses? Some guy that the mafia, the cartels, and every gang on the North Eastern Seaboard pay tribute to? A Kingpin?" asked the guard. Ben started having a very sick feeling inside of his stomach.

"The boss says hello." smiled the guard as he got to his feet. He pulled out his nightstick and was about to swing when suddenly the van swerved violently. The guard went flying into the wall, hitting his head and knocking him out flat. Ben struggled against his restraints but wasn't getting anywhere. The backdoors shot open as someone in a black mask jumped inside. He quickly grabbed the unconscious guard's keys and used them to free Ben.

"C'mon." said Ben's savior. He let him outside to a car waiting on the side of the road. The masked man jumped inside the driver seat and Ben into the passenger seat. They started the engine and shot onto the road. Once they were safely enough away, the savior pulled his mask off. It was his son Benedict.

"Hey kiddo. Glad you got my message." said Ben with a sigh of relief.

"Really dad? Testifying against the Kingpin? Do you have a death wish?" groaned Benedict.

"Nice to see you too. I needed some kind of excuse to get where you could spring me loose. I admit, promising to testify about the existence of the Kingpin might not have been the best option but it was probably the only one I could think of at the time." smiled Ben.

"If Mom was still alive she'd smack you, very hard I might add." Benedict moaned.

"Yeah she probably would have." sighed Ben.

* * *

They couldn't see it but he did. He knew they were all doomed. Every last one of them. No one else heard the screams. No one else heard the shrieks of terror before the eternal silence. But he did. It showed him every pain and torture they felt. If he didn't do what he needed to be done then the screams will never end. He had to do this for them. Then maybe he would granted the mercy of death. Living under its power was a far worse fate.

"Yes yes. I'll find them. Just stop the screams please!" he shouted. The shrieks dimmed as if becoming distant and then silent. He knew it would only be temporary. They would return if he didn't find them.

* * *

Amara felt like she was going to puke the moment she stepped onto the cruise ship. The last time she felt like this was on the plane ride from Nova Roma to the Xavier Institute and that was a twelve hour trip. This was going to last a few days. And for the past two, Amara was groaning in her cabin alone and miserable. She should have stay back at the Institute with Xavier, Beast, Logan, Emma, and Jesse. At least she could have gone out with John but she had be the team player and go with the team.

The door to her cabin burst open as Tabitha walked in with a very angry Storm. "I know I know. I screwed up." moaned Tabitha. "That would be putting it mildly." growled Storm. "What's going on?" asked Amara.

"Tabitha decided to throw one of her bombs at breakfast and caught the mess hall on fire. The rest of the team tried to help but that only made things worse." answered Storm. "Should have brought John along. He could have put it out with a thought." remarked Amara. "Something I'm sure you can remind the others later. In the meantime Tabitha, you're staying here until I can calm down the staff after your little debacle." Storm said very sternly.

She shut the door, leaving Tabitha and Amara alone. "Man did I ever screw things up. I'll be lucky if the others want to talk to me again." groaned Tabitha. "Just please tell me we'll be docking soon. I don't know how much more of this I can take." groaned Amara.

"Wow girl, you look even worse." commented Tabitha. _"Attention passengers. Looks like we've got some rough weather ahead so we won't be proceeding directly to the Bahamas. Instead we'll head to St. Sebastian Island and anchor there to wait it out. We apologize for the inconvenience."_ spoke the captain's voice over the intercom. Amara moaned even louder.

* * *

"I cannot believe she did that. Now we're right back to the suspicious looks and racial epitaphs." groaned Bobby as he, Kitty, and Kurt were walking along the deck. "You're one to talk DiCaprio with nearly sinking the ship with an iceberg last night." shot back Kitty. Bobby gulped, knowing she did make a good point. "And now we're going to be stuck on this ship even longer. This vacation gets worse and worse by the minute." moaned Kurt.

"At least Jesse isn't here. With his cold, he'd probably cause the whole ship to explode." commented Bobby. He glanced into a nearby window and noticed the same figure again in the reflection. For past hour at least, the same guy was following them. Bobby at first thought it was nothing but considering how many times he's seen the man in such a short time on a large boat like this, it wasn't a coincidence. "I don't want to sound paranoid but I think we're being followed." said Bobby.

Kurt and Kitty glanced into a nearby window, using it like a mirror to look behind them. "I see him." whispered Kitty. "Me too. I'll teleport us and we can get the drop on him." said Kurt.

They made sure he was in a secluded part of the boat before teleporting behind and ambushing their stalker. He was quite surprised when they surrounded him. "Alright pal. Who are you and why are you following us?" demanded Kitty. "And you better not be one of those Friends of Humanity nut jobs or so help me I'll…" warned Bobby.

The man started laughing psychotically. "You don't understand. You doomed us all. It wasn't sure you were on this boat but now that it's seen you through my eyes, it'll come. We're all going to die and the voices will finally be silent." he laughed. The three mutants found themselves a little put off from this and started to back up.

"And I thought Wanda was psychotic," muttered Kitty. Then the man started screaming. "NO! You said the voices would stop! Make them stop! Make them stop!" he screamed covering his eyes.

"Chill out dude." said Bobby but the man just dropped to the ground screaming. Jean and Scott came rushing to them. "What's going on here?" demanded Scott. "Hey it wasn't us. He was following us and when we confronted him he just starting freaking out." protested Kitty.

"Jean can you calm him down?" asked Scott. Jean nodded and telepathically connected with his mind. Suddenly she started screaming as well, clenching her head in pain. "Jean! What's going on?" Scott shouted trying to calm her down. "Voices…so many. Some kind of telepathy. So powerful." groaned Jean.

"Hey! What's going on here?" shouted a security guard rushing to the scene. Nearby a set of eyes watched the whole thing with increasing interest. He had found his target but needed to get close before the ship was destroyed.

* * *

"They what?" shouted Logan. Storm had just called them and briefed them on the situation onboard. Scott, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, and Bobby were all in the brig after security believed they assaulted a stowaway on the ship. The Xavier Institute was nowhere near reconstructed and Charles thought that it would the students some good to get away for a while on a cruise.

"Is it metaphysically impossible for trouble not to follow the students wherever they go?" asked Emma. "It certainly doesn't appear that way." moaned Beast.

"_Did you get the records on the man? Jean said he was under some kind of telepathic control."_ said Storm. "Yes. Captain Gregory Belzin of the USS Annapolis. It's an Ohio class nuclear submarine that was supposed to be a part of some naval exercises in the Indian Ocean but…that's strange. The Pentagon lost contact with it and all attempts of locating it have been unsuccessful." frowned Beast as he read the report.

"Then how did he end up on a cruise ship stalking the students?" asked Emma. _"Hopefully I can find out more after I convince the captain to not keep the children locked up for the rest of the trip."_ said Storm.

"Don't worry Storm. We'll be departing shortly and picking everyone up." said Xavier. _"Is something wrong Professor?"_ asked Storm. "Cerebro detected a presence near your location, something powerful and unlike anything I have ever felt before. I don't know what it is but I'm not taking any chances." explained Xavier.

"Does that mean I have to go too?" groaned Jesse. "You can't just stay cooped up inside the Institute forever. Logan prepare the Velocity." said Xavier.

* * *

Belzin would still hear the shrieks and the echoes of his crew, all of them begging for death. "Please I did what you want." he pleaded but the voices remained. Nearby a stranger walked next to his hospital bed.

"Human. I need to know if it is coming." he demanded. "Make the voices stop!" begged Belzin. "It sent you here didn't it? Is it coming here? I needed to know." the stranger said, losing his patience. "It's coming for them. It's coming for us all." cried Belzin.

"Hey! What are you doing?" shouted a doctor who rushed inside. The stranger spun around and kicked the doctor in the face, knocking him down. Two guards rushed in but the stranger easily grabbed both of them with inhuman strength and tossed into the walls. Afterwards, he rushed out of the room.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this." moaned Benedict as he stopped behind an abandoned gas and parked. "So how's life with the teen titans?" asked Benjamin. "First off pop. My friends are not superheroes. We're the Brotherhood. We look out for each other and only each other." snapped Benedict.

"You're looking out for me right now aren't ya?" smiled Benjamin. Benedict opened the driver door and stepped out. Opening the car trunk, he pulled out a gym bag. He walked around to the passenger side and shoved the bag through the window and right into his father's face.

"Hurry up and change. Only an idiot drives around in the same clothes he was in jail with." hissed Benedict. "Do I at least get some privacy?" asked Benjamin. "Trust me old man. I am not going to watch. The last thing I need is psychological damage." replied Benedict. The young Kine walked to the other side of the old building and waited.

"You know I'm really sorry I missed out on all those things I promised. Disney World, Bermuda, all those places I told you we would go." Benedict heard his father say. "Just shut up. Once we get past the Canadian border and you use the fake passport I gave you for a plane ride to Venezuela, I don't ever want to hear from you again." snapped Benedict.

* * *

"What do you mean gone?" demanded Wilson Fisk. The most ruthless and most powerful crime lord since Al Capone and yet hardly anyone knew he even existed. The greatest trick the devil ever used was trick the world into thinking he didn't exist. A clever quote that Fisk took his philosophy from. Control everything and everyone from a distance and the shadows. Mob bosses and gang leaders rise and fall but Fisk's hold over the criminal underworld remained.

Unfortunately, you don't get where you are without entrusting a few people with your secrets. One such man was Benjamin Kine. The man was Fisk's money launderer and a very good one. He went to jail for working with the Mexican cartels but he never gave up his clients. Fisk was willing to let him live until he promised to spill the beans on him for some kind of deal. Wilson paid good money to make sure the man would have an accident while being shuffled around prisons but somehow he managed to escape.

"We don't know sir. The driver and transport guard suffered concussions and can't seem to remember what happened." reported his FBI source. Fisk hung up, no point in maintaining the conversation. He had work to do. He sent out word to the toughest group of hired thugs the Kingpin had ever encountered.

A month ago, he got the idea to hire as many superpower villains he could after some vigilante called Spiderman started ruining his business. Getting them to work together wasn't easy. Some like Doctor Octopus didn't even care about the money, all he wanted was funding for his research. But they managed to beat Spiderman and had him on the run.

Within a half an hour, they all lined up as Kingpin's meeting place. Shocker, Rhino, Sandman, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, and Vulture. "Welcome gentleman. I have most pressing matter for you all to attend to." said Fisk.

"Did that wall crawlin vermin finally crawl out of his hole boss?" asked Shocker. "I hope so. I'm gonna break him in two." said Rhino, cracking his knuckles. "Get in line buddy." said Sandman.

"No. One of my former associates has gone missing and I need him found and eliminated." said Fisk.

"I am a scientist, not a hit man." growled Octopus. "This is beneath me." agreed Mysterio. "Send someone else." nodded Vulture.

"You will do as I say!" shouted Fisk, silencing everyone. "I need you to do this because his son is responsible for all of this and he is member of the Brotherhood." That got everyone's attention.

"You mean that bunch of hoodlum teenagers?" asked Shocker. "Who cares? I just want something to crush until I find Spiderman." snapped Rhino. "Ah why not?" shrugged Sandman.

"Several of those degenerates are extremely powerful. Do not take them lightly." pointed out Vulture. "They're a bunch of kids. How tough can they be?" asked Mysterio. "More then you realize. We'll need files on them. Powers, personalities, weaknesses, everything you have on them." said Octopus.

"You'll have them. Make those little brats tell you where Benjamin is and then deal with him." ordered Fisk.

* * *

"We need those freaks off this ship now!" shouted the XO. The bridge crew was consulting one another over the mutant problem but they couldn't really agree on how to handle it. "And how do you suggest we do that? If they don't want to leave there's nothing we can do to force them off. You know how powerful they are." replied the Captain.

"Captain. I'm picking something up on sonar." reported the Sonar Officer. "A ship?" asked the Captain. "No sir. It's directly beneath us." replied the Sonar Officer. "It's a pod of whales." said XO. "That's larger than the entire ship? I don't think so. It's huge and it's coming up. Impact in three…" said the Sonar Officer. Everyone exchange worried looks. "…two…one." The whole bridge shook violently as everyone was tossed around the room.

* * *

"Ah she didn't take you with her?" Toad mocked John. He was particularly irate about not going with Amara on the X-Men's cruise vacation. He could afford the price of admission but none of Amara's house mates wanted him around. The feeling was mutual and John didn't feel like being with X-Men on a contained floating barge would end well for somebody. So he decided to stay but he didn't like it.

"Watch it bog breath." warned John as he finished his breakfast. "My my my our little firebug is a little grumpy today." chuckled Pietro as he walked into the room. "Unless you two want to be ashes on the floor, shut up right now." warned John.

"Well this should make you happy. Apparently something happened on the cruise ship with the geek squad and they might be getting charged with assault and battery." laughed Pietro. "And here I thought this was going to be a bad day." smirked John. A knock on the door caught their attention. "Hey maybe the Prof needs us to recommend a good lawyer." chuckled Pietro.

He dashed to the door and opened it for find no one there. "Hello?" called out Pietro. A robotic tentacle came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the face, yanking him away. John and Toad glanced up, hearing a quick yelp. "Pietro?" asked Toad. John stood up and walked cautiously towards the front door.

He readied two fireballs in his hands as he approached the front door. The door was open but Pietro was nowhere to be seen. "Pietro?" called out John. Flowing strands of sand crawled on the floor behind him, forming into a humanoid figure and rising up. It formed a hammer with one of his hands and lifted it up to strike. John jumped around and fired a massive stream of continuous fire out of his hand. Sandman screamed in pain, rushing away.

"What's going on?" shouted Toad as rushed into the room. "Toad run!" shouted back John. He turned around to see Shocker. Pyro fired a wave of fire at him only for Shocker to fire a blast from his gauntlets. The blast extinguished John's fire and knocked the fire mutant into the wall, knocking him out. Toad screamed and rushed off.

Wanda emerged from her room on the second floor, hearing the commotion. "Guys? What's going on?" she shouted. Mist started to fill the hallway, making it impossible to even see. "Good afternoon my dear." said a voice. Using her hex powers, she dispersed the fog to find Mysterio waiting for her.

"Who are you?" she shouted. "Mysterio." he said, taking a bow. "Bye Mysterio." replied Wanda before throwing a hex that sent the man flying. He smashed against the wall and body fell apart. Wanda then realized that it was nothing but a robot. She also realized that she was starting to get weaker in the knees and her vision started getting blurry.

"That wasn't fog." laughed Mysterio's voice. Wanda dropped to the ground and everything went dark.

"What was that noise?" called out Fred in the library. Rhino charged right through the wall and rammed him through another. Fred got to his feet before Rhino came at him again. This time Fred saw it coming and prepped himself. The two rammed each other, neither moving as they exchanged blows. Sand slid up Fred and went into his mouth and nostrils. Blob gasped for air, unable to stop the blockage the sand formed. He dropped to the ground unconscious before the sand exited his body and back to Sandman who was standing in the doorway.

"Another one bits the sand." laughed Sandman. Rhino and Sandman high fived each other. They suddenly started screaming as Chris Terrance entered the room and blasted them with psy static. Shocker ran only to get overwhelmed by it as well. As the three thugs dropped to their knees, a robotic tentacle wrapped around Chris's neck and constricted. "Do halt your attacks Mister Terrance before I am forced to crush your trachea." ordered Doctor Octopus. Chris stopped his psy static and Mysterio appeared beside him, spraying gas in Terrance's face.

Outside Toad was running or rather hopping for his life. In the sky above him, Vulture swooped down and sliced Tolensky in half. Toad made a break for the tree line as Vulture fired his razor feathers. Metallic feathers dropped all around him, one actually slicing Toad's shoulder. But he managed to get into the trees. Vulture knew his quarry was lost and flew back to the mansion.

Inside the Sinister Six were gathering up the unconscious members of the Brotherhood in one room. Vulture walked in as they started slapping restraints designed specifically for each mutant. "The frog managed to escape. Quite the slippery amphibian." said Vulture. "A minor inconvenience. We have more than enough of them to tell us where Benjamin Kine is." said Doctor Octopus.

(Next chapter. The X-Men confront the mysterious force stalking them although I'm sure you already know what it is. Also Kine and Toad are forced to ask Spiderman for help in confronting the Sinister Six and rescuing their captured friends.)


	63. Lost Island

(I know this must be shocking but I've actually posted the next chapter. I don't write this story as fast I used to mostly because I'm either busy nowadays and when I have free time, it's spent on other things and not writing this fic. But that's not important. Enjoy.)

Sarah Vale moaned as she regained unconsciousness. In what remained of their room Five Jamies, Ray, Roberto, and Sam were all starting to wake up from whatever just happened a moment ago. Everything was fine and then the whole thing shook like an earthquake, knocking everyone around the room.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't part of the experience." groaned Ray. "It was kinda fun though." said Jamie as he retracted all his copies. "Speak for yourself mister copy machine." mumbled Sam.

Storm burst into the room. "Is everyone alright?" she asked. "I'll let you know when my head stops spinning." groaned Roberto. Everyone got to their feet. "What happened? Did Bobby make another iceberg in front of the ship?" asked Sarah. "Not this time. C'mon we need to find the others." ordered Storm.

They followed her over to Tabitha and Amara's room where the two female members emerged. "What happened? Did Scott lose his glasses again?" asked Tabitha. "We don't know. We were just on our way to the brig once we found you two." said Storm.

"Well on the bright side I feel a lot better." smiled Amara. "Oh now she feels better." groaned Roberto. The team continued through the chaos of the corridors as passengers and crewmembers panicked and ran around in complete anarchy. They eventually got to the outer decks and noticed the ship was no longer in the ocean. The cruise ship had beached itself on some kind of island.

"Was the captain drunk or something? When he said anchor at St. Sebastian Island, I didn't think he meant that literally." remarked Tabitha. "This isn't St. Sebastian. I don't recognize it from any of the Caribbean tour books I read." said Amara.

"Well let's go find…" said Jamie before Scott, Jean, Bobby, Kurt, and Kitty came walking up to them. "…never mind."

"Is everyone alright?" asked Storm. "We're fine. Most of the crew is running around in panic so let ourselves out." said Jean. "For good behavior." smirked Bobby. "You and good behavior don't belong in the same sentence." said Kitty rolling her eyes.

"Hey what's that guy doing?" asked Ray, directing everyone's attention to a man climbing down the side of the ship. He leaped off and landed on the island, a hundred foot drop at least and yet landed on his feet with no sign of injury. He took off into the jungle, disappearing.

"Okay he certainly wasn't human." said Jamie. "Jean, Kurt, Bobby, Kitty, you're me. We'll go after him. Storm stay here with the others and see if you can help the passengers." ordered Scott.

* * *

Toad practically punched the call button at the Xavier Institute gates. The building wasn't completely rebuilt but they were making good progress. "Come on guys open up! I know you don't like me but you've got to help!" Toad shouted. When he got no reply, he pulled out his cell phone and started calling the emergency black phones that Pietro gave everyone. Untraceable disposable cell phones everyone could use in case of emergencies and then get rid of. Right now he was calling Kine.

* * *

Benedict was back on the road with his father when his black phone went off. He didn't have time for this. Quickly he pulled it out and answered it. "This better be important because you just made this phone unsecured." groaned Benedict.

"Kine! Where are you? They got everyone! They need help!" shouted Toad so loud that Benedict had to hold the phone away from his ear. "Who is that?" asked Benjamin. "Toad calm down and start talking sense." demanded Benedict.

"They attacked and captured everyone. They got Pietro, Fred, John, Chris, even cupcake." said Toad. "Hold on. Who is they?" asked Benedict.

* * *

Pietro, Wanda, Chris, John, and Fred all woke up in their living room bound in specialized restraints. Pietro had both his arm and legs shackled while Wanda had restraints that restricted her arms and fingers. Chris was shackled and had a helmet on his head blocking his psy static. John had some kind of suit on that sprayed him with gas anytime he tried to create fire. Fred found himself floating over an anti-gravity platform.

"Good morning lady and gentlemen. I'm sure this is all somewhat confusing for you but I'm afraid we're pressed for time." said Doctor Octopus. "Where Benjamin Kine?" demanded Shocker.

"Benjamin Kine? Don't you mean Benedict Kine?" asked Pietro. "Benjamin is Ben's father. Kind of a touchy subject with him." said Chris. "Am I the only member of the Brotherhood members without daddy issues?" mumbled Fred.

"I don't have daddy issues. Granted my dad had this odd fascination with sniffing paint but he was a regular guy," protested John. "Like I said. I'm the only one without daddy issues," moaned Fred.

"Quit stalling. Where is he?" said Sandman. "Okay look this is all some huge misunderstandin-gggggaahh." said Pietro before Rhino grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. "Don't you lie to me." snapped Rhino.

"Leave him alone." shouted Wanda. Rhino tossed Pietro aside and grabbed Wanda. "You watch your mouth girlie or I'll show you that the horns on my costume aren't props." threatened Rhino. "Rhino put the lady down." said Octopus. Rhino grunted and set Wanda back down.

"That's better. Now seeing your confusion among the subject of Benjamin Kine, I assumed you have no idea where he is or took part in his escape. That's alright though. We know Benedict Kine did and we want to know where he is. Tell us and we'll let you go." said Octopus.

All of the Brotherhood members busted up laughing. The Sinister Six all exchanged confused looks. "That's what the bad guys always say before they kill you." said John. "Yeah. That's like evil doing 101." said Fred. "Come to think of it, they do have a point." said Sandman.

"Shut up." snapped Octopus. One of his tentacles grabbed Wanda by the neck and lifted her up. "Fortunately a psychological analysis of every one of you does show how protective you are of another so I will make this simple." The tentacle started crushing Wanda's neck as she gasped for air. "Where is he?"

"Leave her alone!" shouted Chris. John tried to start a fire but ended up getting gassed. "When I get down from here I'm going to kill you." threatened Fred. "Alright alright I'll tell you what you want to know just stop." shouted Pietro. The tentacle released Wanda who dropped to the ground coughing and gasping.

"Please continue." smiled Octopus.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. A bunch of super powered thugs break into the mansion and take your friends prisoner?" asked Benjamin Kine to Toad once he and Benedict met up.

"Ben who is guy?" asked Toad. "Benjamin Kine, accounting extraordinaire and the best handler of finance…" said Benjamin. "Shut up dad. We think we might now who they are. My old man's former employer recently got a super villain freaks together to fight their common enemy Spiderman." interrupted Benedict.

"Spiderman? You mean that guy who shoots webs from his hands and dresses in pajamas?" asked Toad. "Not to mention the one guys who has beaten all of those thugs." said Benjamin. "Yeah but not all at once." pointed Benedict.

"How do you know all this?" asked Toad. "I know everything about every major crime syndicate on the Eastern Seaboard. Now the big cheese in this case is the Kingpin. Very few know he exists and those that do keep their mouths shut." said Benedict.

"So what do we do?" asked Toad. "We get help that's what. And since the Xavier Institute is empty, there's only one other name I can think of that can help us." said Benedict. "Wait a minute? You're going to ask for Spiderman's help?" said Toad.

"Oh I'm not gonna ask." said Benedict.

* * *

Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty and Bobby were all walking through the jungle of whatever island they were on and it gave them the creeps. "That presence that was inside Captain Belzin's mind, I can feel it all around us and yet I don't see anything." said Jean. "Stay sharp. I don't like this." said Scott.

"Is it just me or is anybody creeped out by how quiet it is?" asked Kurt. "Yeah I haven't seen a single bird or bug of any kind. Nothing but trees." agreed Kitty. "I'm just glad there's no smoke monster." quipped Bobby.

"Well you certainly don't come across that every day." remarked Kurt as they entered a clearing where a massive submarine was beached onto the island. "How did this thing end up here?" asked Jean "Probably the same reason our ship running aground." commented Scott.

"Uhh guys. Look at the insignia up there." said Kitty pointing to lettering on the walls of the vessel. **USS Annapolis. **"Wait a minute. Isn't that the name of the sub that nutjob was the captain of?" asked Bobby. "I have a very bad feeling about this." Kitty said.

Then out of nowhere their mysterious target came crashing down catching everyone off guard. He knocked Jean into the sub and did a tornado kick that hit Bobby and Kurt in one move. Scott fired an optic blast but the attacker rolled under it and leg tripped Cyclops. He moved gracefully with leaps, handstands, and backflips with unnatural agility.

Kitty tried to hit him but he easily blocked and avoided every one of her attacks. Bobby got back to his feet and shot an ice beam at the man who jumped out of the way and it hit Kitty instead. "Bobby!" she screamed as she phased out shivering and teeth chattering. Bobby then froze the ground beneath the attacked but he simply leaped onto branches above him and did a gymnastic flip around them to propel himself right towards Bobby. Iceman put up an ice shield but the man punched right through and still hit Bobby.

Kurt tried to teleport above him and ambush the guy but he easily caught Nightcrawler and hurled him into Scott who was just getting back to his feet. Before the man could do anymore he suddenly himself floating in the air and hurled into the sub, knocking the wind out of him. Jean used her powers to keep him still.

"Man that guys makes Jet Li and Jackie Chan look like amateurs." groaned Kurt as everyone got to their feet. "Who are you?" demanded Jean. "You're wasting your time mutant. The real threat is all around you and you don't even realize it." said the man.

"A guy who talks mysteriously. You're Jacob aren't you." accused Bobby. Everyone threw him a confused look. "Another Lost reference." he shrugged.

"We will all be dead soon. I suggest you make peace with yourselves." said the man. "What are you talking about?" demanded Scott. "It doesn't matter surface dwellers. You cannot stop it and if you knew the truth you wouldn't try." answered the attacker. "Seriously could you please stop with the cryptic dialogue." groaned Kitty.

Suddenly the ground began to shake. "Lance?" asked Scott. "Petra?" asked Jean. Everyone then started sinking into the ground. "Hey what's happening?" shouted Booby. Jean used her telekinesis to pull everyone out and levitate them on top of the submarine.

"What is going on?" asked Kitty. On the ground, things began forming out of the sand and dirt into Velociraptor shaped creatures. They all started climbing up the sub, hissing as hundreds more took form below.

"Are you going to start Jurassic Park references now?" Kurt asked Bobby. Scott blasted all of the creatures, crumbling them into dirt. Then the sub they were on started shaking and sinking. "Kurt teleport us back to the ship now!" shouted Scott. Everyone gathered into a circle which Nightcrawler teleported away before the sub was completely submerged.

They all reappeared on the top deck of the cruise ship and sent several passengers running away screaming at the sight. "Are we getting attacked by Petra again?" groaned Bobby. "If you are referring to the mutant Petra then no. Your enemy is not a who but what." answered the man. "Alright enough with the cryptic talking. Who are you and what is attacking us?" demanded Kitty.

"My name is Namor, Prince of Atlantis and you are all being hunted by Krakoa. It is the very island that this ship is beached upon. My people have known about this monster for millennia but did not possess the means of destroying it. I do not know where it comes but I do know it slumbers for millions of years until it awakens and consumes anything it finds. Some of my own people have been telekinetically linked to its mind in the past and learned that it desires to consume the most evolved living beings it can find. And that's why it's after you." Namor explained.

"This…island wants to eat us?" gulped Kurt. "Now I'm starting to wish we were just dealing with a smoke monster." said Bobby. "How do we stop this thing?" demanded Scott. "I've tapered with that underwater vessel to trigger a nuclear explosion. The blast will kill all of us but it will weaken the monster. Enough for my fleet nearby to destroy it." said Namor.

"What kind of stupid plan is that? You'll kill everyone on this ship!" shouted Jean. "And save billions of lives in the process. Once Krakoa is finished with you, it will move onto your cities and mine. Billions of both our peoples will die if that happens." said Namor.

"Couldn't you have found a way without nuking us?" shouted Scott. "Uhh guys. Those things are back," gulped Bobby, pointing to the bottom of the ship were hundreds of the same creatures as before started climbing up the side.

* * *

Benedict, his father, and Toad all stood outside a closed jewelry store. "What is this place closed down? It's the middle of the day." said Benjamin. "The owner decided to get married to a twelve year old in Thailand." said Toad. The two Kines threw him a look. "At least that's what I read on the Internet." Toad defended him. "There's a reliable source." mumbled Benedict.

Benjamin picked up a brick and threw it through the window. Benedict tossed an envelope inside containing at least a thousand dollars for the owner's trouble. Now the three of them just stood around and waited. "Are you sure this'll get his attention?" asked Toad. "What do you suggest? Building a giant spider signal? Calling his hotline?" groaned Benedict.

Suddenly webbing hit all three of them and they were yanked towards the rooftop. Spiderman held them in the air, holding onto the webbing tendrils. "Sorry I don't have either of those but the giant spider signal does sound a little cool. Anyways you three are the coolest jewel thieves ever. You actually wait for me to come and catch you." said Spiderman.

Benedict sent a neural signal that forced Spiderman to pull all three of them up onto the rooftop. "Hey! What's going on?" shouted Spiderman, unable to fight back. Everyone pulled the wedding off their clothes. "This is like that scene on Animal Planet. The one with the wasp who paralyzes tarantulas and lays eggs on them that eventually hatch and eat the spider alive." said Toad.

"That's disgusting Toad." groaned Benedict. "Oh this is so not fair." mumbled Spiderman unable to move thanks to Pusher. "Well we got him now what?" asked Benjamin. "We stick to the script. He helps us pound the Kingpin's six stooges and we rescue everybody." said Toad.

"Wait a minute are you talking about the Sinister Six?" asked Spiderman. The three ignore as they argue. "Why would he help us? I'm a wanted fugitive and the pajama bug man here isn't exactly known for letting people like me go." said Benjamin. "Hey! Spiders are arachnids. Why does nobody ever know that?" mumbled Spiderman. Benjamin and Toad argued back and forth while Benedict got a headache.

"Shut up!" shouted Benedict. Everybody sent silent. "Alright here's the deal mister red and blue tights. A couple of your enemies that work for the Kingpin had captured our friends and we need help to get them back. Since you have a history with these guys, we'd figure you'd be the only real shot we have at beating them." explained Benedict.

"You guys smashed a window and feigned a jewelry robbery all to ask for my help?" frowned Spiderman. "We're kinda pressed for time." said Toad. "A little advice then fellas. If you're going to ask for help don't hold them hostage. Stockholm syndrome takes a long time to work." said Spiderman.

Benedict released Spiderman from his control. "Wow that was extremely unpleasant." he commented. Benedict's phone rang and it could only mean one thing. "It's them." he said before answering and putting it on speaker.

"Benedict Kine I presume? My name is Doctor Otto Octavius." said the voice on the other line. "Yeah I know who you are." grunted Benedict. "Then you know what I want. We're all civilized people here. Give me your father and I'll give you your friends." said Octopus. "I've got a counter offer. You let my friends go and then you leave and never show your faces to us again. You do that and I'll let you walk away but if you don't I'm coming home and you won't be walking out of there. I'm on my way right now and you better not be there when I arrive." warned Benedict. He hung up the phone and tossed it to the ground.

"What did you just do?" shouted Toad. "I've got to agree with stinky here. You're just going to walk right in there?" asked Spiderman. "No but you are." Benedict told Spiderman.

* * *

Xavier, Emma, Beast, Logan, and Jesse were halfway to the last known location of the cruise ship in the Velocity.

"Any word yet from anyone?" asked Logan at the helm. "No. I've been trying to raise them telekinetically but so far I'm being blocked by something." said Xavier. "Me too. Whatever it is, it's powerful." said Emma. "Oh that sounds very bad." groaned Jesse.

Suddenly the power began to flicker on the control board. "We're losing power." shouted Beast. "I told you not to bring me." said Jesse. "It's not you. Some kind of EM interference coming that's messing with our power just enough so we have to land. Somebody wants us grounded." said Logan. He was forced land the Velocity on the ground before they lost complete power.

Outside a metal ball that had trailing them took off into the sky. "Magnus." Xavier whispered.

(I should have made Namor a little more apparent in the previous chapter but oh well, you know it's him now. I was hoping to finish this storyline in two chapters but it looks like the conclusion will have to wait until the next one which includes Krakoa, Atlanteans, and Magneto. Please review.)


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